The Great Escape
by Barrel of Monkeys
Summary: Harry runs away from Hogwarts, only to be found by Neji Hyuuga. Gen.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I own neither Harry Potter, or Naruto. Any characters you recognize, I did not create, but any you don't, well then I take complete credit for those.

**Warnings**: Death, Magic abuse, OOC'ness, OC'ness, Gen, and well whatever I can think of later.

**The Great Escape**

**The Shaky Start**

Harry sat up with a gasp from his dreams, no not dreams, memories. He had gone down to help protect the Philosophers stone, and ended up killing Quirrel. Harry Potter was a murderer.

Slowly raising one hand, Harry felt the tender flesh around his neck where the possessed professor had tightly gripped, attempting to kill Harry. Looking around the silent chamber, he couldn't help but shudder in revulsion at the pile of ash laying nearby. How would he explain this?

Thoughts of Professors and Ministry Officials interrogating him, finding him guilty, his friends jeering at him, saying he was a liar, flashed through his head. Harry felt a panic attack coming, and could hardly steady his breathing when a picture of his wand being snapped, and being forced to return to the Dursleys appeared before his eyes.

He couldn't return to the Dursley's. Magic had been his saviour. The Wizarding World was his salvation from the cruel actions of his relatives. If he went back, he could only imagine how his stuff would be burned and he would be forced back into the cupboard while his relatives taunted and hit him. He couldn't go back!

Harry's panic receded as a new emotion developed. Determination. Harry would ensure that he would never be forced to return to his relatives house. He would run before he was found. Before Dumbledore returned and forced him back to the muggle world. Looking around the chamber, he searched for another way out. There couldn't only be one door leading in, after all Dumbledore wouldn't go through each trap and test every time he came down here. Harry slowly stood, and winced at the dull throb of pain that developed in his shoulder, but he pushed on to find a way out.

He would miss Ron and Hermione. He would miss Gryffindor, and Hogwarts, but he had only known them a year, he had feared his Uncle for ten. Harry dragged his fingers over the chamber walls, looking for any slight indentation, that might be a mark signalling a secret door. The more wall area he covered, the more he desperately wished for another door to appear.

Hogwarts, as if sensing his desperation to get out, sent out a magical pulse, and Harry quickly scrambled to its location. Once his fingertips touched the wall, a solid oak door appeared. Harry hesitantly opened the door, and was surprised to see the hallway leading to Gryffindor tower. Harry stepped out and closed the door behind him. Before he left, he turned around and placed his hand flat on the disappearing door, and whispered a sincere thank you. When the door completely vanished, Harry ran down the hallway.

The Fat Lady was already awake and muttering about students slamming her open as they ran out after hours, and Harry could only guess that Neville had finally gotten free of Hermione's hex.

He didn't have a lot of time.

Inside Gryffindor, Harry was running towards the stairs when he spotted a school bag. Not any school bag, but Lavender's. The girl had spent three days bragging about the new bag her father sent her. It had an expansion charm on it that let her carry as much as she wanted without getting full, and a feather-light charm so that she could carry it no problem. Harry knew stealing was bad, but he couldn't very well runaway with a large trunk. Whispering an apology to Lavender, he snatched up the bag and continued into his dorm.

Harry quietly opened his trunk, praying that Dean and Seamus stayed asleep, and started throwing his belongings into the bag he had taken from Lavender. Whispering another apology to the girl, he stuffed his most prized possessions inside.

When he was finished, Harry wrapped himself in his invisibility cloak, and he left his dorm room once again that night. Once he hit the common room, he was about to leave but looked around instead. Several of the older students liked to leave their things on the table and chairs. Harry, the little fugitive that he now was, knew that he wouldn't get far with just his first year books, so resigning himself, he started picking up books that lay around. Having grabbed several year texts, and some library books that some students had checked out, he nodded to himself satisfied, and headed to the door.

As he reached the portrait, he heard voices approaching, and quickly slid out of the way. Breathing as quietly as he could, Harry waited until the door was open.

Neville, and Professor McGonagall entered, and the Professor didn't seem happy.

"Mister Longbottom, I don't know what you are doing out of bed, but I promise that you will not enjoy the week worth of detention I'm assigning you."

"But Professor, Harry and the others-"

"Mister Longbottom, I bet Potter and his friends are all in bed, like you should be." The Professor scolded,

Harry didn't hesitate to slip out of the portrait, once the pair cleared the way. Silently creeping down the hall, Harry hoped he didn't run into any others. He sort of wished he had a map or something that would tell him if people we're nearby, but he didn't think anyone would be able to map Hogwarts. That just seemed impossible to him, with all the moving rooms, and stairs. Plus how would they be able to plot where everyone was?

As he rushed out the front doors of the school, he desperately looked around and tried to find an escape route. The only option he saw besides the front gate, which he doubted would let him out, was the forest. Looking back at the magnificent castle that stood behind him, Harry felt a tear slide down his cheek. He would miss Hogwarts, but he knew he couldn't stay there. He had killed a teacher, and no amount of pleading or apologies would save him.

Harry ran to the edge of the forest, and contemplated for a few moments before he removed his cloak. He didn't want it to get ruined, and the lack of trails, or decent paths, would mean that there was a chance for his father's cloak to get wrecked. Harry would never forgive himself if he let that happen.

Steeling his resolve, Harry pushed his glasses further up his nose, and ran. He ran as fast as his legs could go, he ran leaving all his regrets behind, and he ran with hope that he would find a new home, and a new future. He ran even as the branches ripped his clothes, scratched his skin, and the roots attempted to trip him.

Tears blurred his eyes, but Harry figured it was like a cleansing of the soul. Helping to wash away his relatives, wash away the accusations, and wash away his ties to Hogwarts. As he ran, he failed to see the scenery blurring by, changing into a forest that didn't exist in Scotland, or even in that plane of existence.

Harry ran until his vision went black and he collapsed.

o.O.o

_Two Weeks Before_

Neji stood in front of Lady Hokage, and listened as she debriefed him on his mission. Two countries that both held asylum under Konoha, were feuding. Neji's mission was to go to the village Leaders and work out the issues to, hopefully, prevent a war between them. If it came to war Konoha would be forced to choose a side and Lady Hokage didn't want the headache or the paperwork that would follow.

Neji was honoured that he was chosen as an ambassador, and was ready to leave immediately. Lady Hokage had warned him that the mission wouldn't be over in a week or month, but she fully expected that he would need to live there for a year or two. The two Leaders were apparently very stubborn, egotistical, and rude. 'So like many leaders' Neji thought.

Once he was given clearance to leave, Neji packed and left as quickly as possible. It had been a few years since the Pain attack, and the last shinobi war, and things had been quiet. When things were quiet, shinobi everywhere were bored.

Neji had been given two Genin teams, and had trained them well. They were all promoted, and he was left idle once more. But the Lady Hokage had finally found him something to do and he couldn't be more grateful to the woman. He could adapt to his new living arrangement and situation, since he finally had a decent mission!

After a long length of time traveling, Neji had been about to arrive at his chosen village of residence when he noticed a small boy running through the forest. Slowing down he watched as the obvious civilian child ran and ran until he passed out.

Neji being curious, jumped down, and slowly turned the boy over to ensure that the child was still alive. Happily noting that the kid was still breathing, his lifted the child, and carried him to the village. The kid had to come from somewhere, and since he was running in the direction of that village, Neji assumed he had to be from there. Also the fact that the village was pretty remote, Neji didn't think this little slip of boy could handle a long journey.

As Neji carried the child, he couldn't help but frown at the pale complexion and messy black locks. Someone didn't seem to be taking very good care of the child, since Neji could practically feel the kids ribs. His frown deepening, Neji picked up speed, hoping to find the village doctor to look the kid over.

Unknowingly, Neji had just met the boy that would change him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I own neither Harry Potter, or Naruto. Any characters you recognize, I did not create, but any you don't, well then I take complete credit for those.

**Warnings**: Death, Magic abuse, OOC'ness, OC'ness, Gen, and well whatever I can think of later, Also my beta has been amusing me with her drunken messages...I have a great beta.

Beta: FEARMEfrancis

**Curious Encounters**

Neji watched as the little boy he found slowly came back to the world. He had dumped the boy with the village healer, and then asked around. No one had known who the child was. Neji briefly considered going to the nearest town, but it was quite the distance away and he didn't think the child could have made that journey on his own. He would ask, but he suspected that someone must have been travelling nearby and the boy ran away, or was chased away. He searched the surrounding terrain just in case.

It was almost as if the boy was brought to him, almost like... destiny. Neji quickly shook away that thought.

When two blurry green eyes opened, Neji stepped forward and offered the boy a glass of water. The healer had pointed out the bruising on the boy's neck and cautioned that it would take a few days to heal, and the boy would have trouble talking. Neji figured that cool water would soothe the throat, and allow Neji to interrogate the boy properly- throat issues aside.

The boy hesitantly held the glass, and took a sip. Once the water hit his throat he let out a small whimper, and then took several more sips after bracing himself.

"How is your throat feeling?" Neji asked.

"Hurts..." The boy hoarsely whispered.

"I would imagine. Who were you running away from?" Neji asked.

The boy stiffened, and then looked away. Neji noticed him chew on the left side of his lip before answering, "Why... why would you... think that?"

Neji sent a small glare to the boy. "Because I saw you running through the trees as if you were scared of whatever was behind you."

"I was just...running..."

'But from who' Neji wondered. "I just need to know where you're from so I can send you home." Neji tried to reassure the boy. Hoping the promise of home would get him to open up.

Instead the boy looked up at him, panic in his eyes. "N-no... I can't go back... please... no." The boy begged.

"And why not?"

The boy didn't seem to be calming down at all. "I can't... they hurt... pain...not them..." The boy whispered in his frightened hoarse tone.

Neji could see the boy working himself in a deeper and deeper panic. Gently Neji began to rub circles on his back, like how he saw Sakura comforting her own children. Slowly he drew the boy into his arms, and whispered calming words to him, just like Naruto did with Hinata when she got upset. The actions seemed to work, when the boy starting calming down, his incomprehensible words slowing.

"Why don't you sleep, and later we will talk more." Neji offered as he lay the boy down in his futon. Carefully he pulled up the blanket and watched as the exhausted hurt boy fell asleep.

Neji was even more determined to find out what the boy was running from. Several theories flew through his head, most about abusive relatives finally going too far. He decided to call the healer again, and have him check the boy for rape.

o.O.o

Harry woke briefly when he felt hands moving him around. He opened blurry eyes and was instructed to drink something that was held to his lips. Too tired to understand, Harry drank the liquid and nodded back to sleep, not hearing anything the person handling him said.

The next time he woke, his throat felt better. Thinking over the last few moments he remembered, he started to panic again when he remembered the man with long dark hair, telling him that he was trying to send Harry home.

Harry didn't want to return to the Dursley's, but he knew it was only a matter of time. By now the man would have filed a report with the police, and they would question him further until they discovered he was Harry Potter. But if the man was a wizard than he might have seen Harry's scar by now and informed Dumbledore. Harry felt his panic levels rising, and scrambled out of the bed, desperately searching for his glasses and bag. He needed to get his things and leave again. He would run farther, and faster. He would escape, he just had to.

Suddenly, two hands fell on his shoulders, and Harry heard himself scream. Turning his head, he saw the man with long dark hair, and dropped to his knees, begging the man not to send him to his relatives. He could care less about his pride at the moment, as the most important thing was not to return to the Dursley's.

"Hush child, I promise not to return you to your relatives." The man comforted him over and over.

As the words finally sank in, Harry started to try calming himself with deep breathes, and repeating the man's words several times in his head. Slowly, very slowly, he loosened his grip on the man's pants, and opened his eyes to see the worried face of the man above.

"Now why don't you tell me why you don't want to go home?" The man asked.

The man took hold of both Harry's hands, and removed them from his pants. He sat down on the ground in front of Harry, and drew him into his arms. Harry felt a little weird being comforted by a stranger, but at the same time it felt nice. It was like how a father or a brother would hold you, Harry guessed.

"D-do I have to, sir?" Harry mumbled into the man's chest.

"Well we could start with something simple. For example, what is your name?"

Harry burrowed deeper into the man's chest, soaking up the comfort he found there. He wanted to remember what it felt like, before he lost it. "Harry, sir."

"Har-ee... My name is Neji." Neji offered.

Harry smiled against the man's chest, glad to have a name to put with the nice man.

"How old are you Hari?"

"11, sir." Harry answered.

o.O.o

Neji was shocked at the boy's answer. This little imp of a boy was 11? Thinking back to another abused boy he knew, Neji could remember how much smaller Naruto was from his teammates. How he had clung to his friends, and hid from the villagers. Neji couldn't help but remember how happy Naruto was when he was given his first birthday party, and all his friends were there.

Abused children needed someone to cling to, someone to help them, and someone to love them. Neji didn't know if he was the best person for the job, but holding Hari now, he thought that maybe he could at least try, if not for His or Hari's sake, but for Naruto's.

"Hari, I promise not to send you back to your relatives, or wherever you came from, but I need to know what happened to you before." Neji softly told the boy.

"But you will send me back once you know." Harry argued, gripping Neji's shirt tightly.

"I promised I wouldn't and I never break a promise." Neji reassured the boy.

Harry shook his head, trying to deny the statement, but Neji persisted.

"Hari, I promise, no matter what you did, I will not send you back. Even if you killed a person." Neji said, thinking an extreme would open the boy up a bit. Instead he felt the little body in his arms stiffen. "Hari..." Neji started, "did you kill someone?" Neji hoped the boy answered in the negative.

"I didn't mean to." Harry whimpered against his chest. Neji figured he might have been caught in the memory.

"Who did you kill Hari?" Neji prompted.

"My teacher...he was strangling me, and I don't know what happened but I touched him and he started to burn up." Harry explained, tensing as if waiting to be pushed away or hit.

"He tried killing you first?" Neji needed to clarify.

Harry nodded his head.

"Why did he try to kill you?"

"I stopped him from stealing something." Harry explained.

"And is that why you don't want to go home?" Neji asked.

"Part of the reason..." Harry mumbled.

"And the other part?"

"My relatives don't like me very much." Harry said in way of explanation.

"Do they hit you?" Neji asked, needing to confirm his abuse theories. While the healer said that Harry had never been touched that way, it was still worse than any of Neji's theories.

"Sometimes." Was the simple answer he received.

"Do they feed you?" Neji remember some of Naruto's recollections of his time at the orphanage and how the cooks sometimes refused to serve any food to Naruto

"When they remembered."

"Where do you sleep?" Neji hoped that Hari wasn't stuck in some dirty corner of the floor like Naruto had been at the orphanage.

"In a cupboard." Neji closed his eyes in silent pain at the simple answer.

"Hari, I meant what I said. I won't send you back. If you like you can live here with me." Neji offered, already attached to the boy.

"Really?" Harry instantly looked up, searching Neji's face, trying to see if the man was playing a trick on him. "Even though I'm a bad kid, and a freak you still want me?"

Neji felt his eyes grow cold at the question. Luckily, his light pupil-less eyes prevented anyone from noticing unless they trained themselves to recognize Hyuuga expressions. Not many attempted that.

"I promised didn't I? I don't think you're bad. You killed your teacher out of self defence, and no child deserves the treatment that your relatives gave you."

Harry's face lit up at Neji's words. The next thing Neji knew, small arms were tightly wrapped around his neck in a hug.

"You know I could cook and stuff, just to help out, since you're going to take care of me and all." Harry offered.

Neji lightly ruffled the boy's already messy hair and gave a small smile. "Good because I'm terrible in the kitchen.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: I own neither Harry Potter, or Naruto. Any characters you recognize, I did not create, but any you don't, well then I take complete credit for those.

**Warnings**: mentions of death, fluff, OOC'ness, OC'ness, Gen.

Beta: FEARMEfrancis- I'm totally sober this time, I swear! ^^;

**Homely Hyuuga's**

Harry felt warm and comfortable. He couldn't help but marvel at how comfortable he felt. He knew it was the cloud like bed he was in, but it also had to deal with Neji not throwing him out when Harry told him about killing someone. Harry shivered at the memory of actually taking a life. His bare hands had killed a person, and he unconsciously wiped then off on the fabric clutched between his fingers.

Harry paused at the thin fabric in his hands. The blanket covering him was thick and fluffy, and the sheets under him were worn soft cotton. Slowly opening his eyes, Harry was surprised to see the sleeping face of his rescuer in front of him.

Harry didn't know how to feel. He was glad that they man had stayed with him, and it was nice to have someone to cuddle with. But at the same time it was awkward, and Harry wasn't sure how he should feel about being in bed with a man he barely knew. Thinking about his behaviour the night before, Harry blushed at the thought of crying in front of a stranger.

Slowly, Harry slipped out of the bed, and out from under the man's arm. It had been a bit of a struggle, since he didn't want to wake the nice man, but he managed it. Once out, he replaced the blankets around the man so he wouldn't get cold. That is when he saw himself wearing a thin blue robe. Not like a wizards robe, but like a cotton bathrobe... He decided to think on it later.

Harry stood by the bed and searched for his glasses. As quiet as possible, Harry tip toed around the large bed like pillow on the floor, and searched the other side. A little upset that he still hadn't found his glasses, Harry slowly searched the sides of the room, until he came to a low table in the corner. He found his glasses, previous clothes, and the bag he stole from Lavender.

Searching the pants pocket, Harry was happy to see his wand and the Philosophers stone still there. Harry replaced them, and backed away from the table, needing to do something nice for the man. Remembering that he had promised to cook, he decided it was time to make breakfast.

Slipping out of the room, Harry didn't notice the pale pupil-less eyes that had watched his every move.

Harry found the kitchen but was confused at the limited and foreign food resources. He had planned to make a full English breakfast, but that plan was shot. Pulling some vegetables and eggs from the fridge, Harry decided that today was in fact, a great day for omelettes.

As he started chopping the veggies, he heard a faint sound from the kitchen window. Stopping his knife, Harry listened. Hearing nothing, he started again, but seconds later, the faint sound came again. Stopping his knife, Harry put it down and softly padded to the window.

Jumping up on the counter, Harry peered out the window and saw a little white and grey kitten under the window. It was small, and looked too thin, just like Harry himself. The kitten was mainly grey, but had four white paws, and the left ear was tipped in white.

Harry walked outside, but hesitated from picking the kitten up. It was silly but his hands trembled as he remembered touching Quirrell and watching as the man turned to ash. He didn't want that to happen to the cat. Harry shook himself out of his daze and reminded himself that he had touched Neji, and the man was perfectly fine. Harry lifted the kitten, and let out a sigh of relief when no fire or death happened.

Harry almost dropped the kitten when it let out a painful mew as Harry touched its back leg. The wizard carefully cradled the injured kitten and brought it inside, hoping that Neji wouldn't be too upset with him.

Harry tried offering some vegetables to the kitten, which he had dubbed Cubbi after a show he had heard Dudley watching often, as he worked, but the kitten rebuked his offerings, and mewed in protest. Harry sighed, but finished the omelettes, and placed them on the table, but without utensils since he couldn't find any.

Trying one last time, he placed a piece of cooked egg down in front of Cubbi, and tried encouraging him to eat it.

"You would have better luck with fish."

Harry jumped at the deep voice that had suddenly appeared. Turning around he found Neji watching from the doorway.

"O-oh...I'm sorry for bringing a cat in your home." Harry apologized.

"Cats are carnivorous, so you would fare better feeding it meat or kitten food. You will need to know this if you want to keep him."

Harry stared at the man in shock. "K-keep him?"

"You have named him have you not? That shows a bond has been forming." Neji pointed out.

Harry slowly stepped towards Cubbi, and stroked him on the head, marvelling that he could have a pet. Cubbi merely purred and bat his hand against his hand, oblivious to the conversation around him. The man didn't even know if he was responsible enough to have one, but Harry would admit that it would be nice to have a pet that he could play with. He didn't have time to grab Hedwig, but even still, an owl wasn't exactly a pet you could play with often.

"Thank you, sir." Harry gave the man a large bright smile. Blushing quickly, Harry dropped his head.

"How are you feeling? It must have been a confusing last few days." Harry wasn't sure but he thought he saw the man's face soften a little.

"I'm fine sir." Harry responded.

"I don't think you are. I remember the first time I killed someone. I kept seeing their face, my hands felt dirty, and my thoughts seemed to never make sense." Neji said as he plucked two wooden sticks from a cup on the counter, and then sat down eating the food Harry prepared.

Harry felt this eyes grow wide. "You killed before?" Harry wasn't sure how he felt about this. The man was a murderer, but he was nice and caring and murderers weren't like that. But Harry had killed and he had thought himself an okay bloke. Harry was having a hard time understanding.

"It's part of my job." Neji answered.

"What do you do?" Harry asked before he could stomp his curiosity down.

"I am a shinobi."

"A what?"

"Shinobi are trained ninja's that serve and protect our village." Neji answered simply, curious as to how someone didn't know what a shinobi was.

"A real ninja?" Harry was amazed. Dudley had once said he would be a ninja so he could sneak into places and steal. He had watched numerous Ninja movies, where the ninja were good and bad, and Harry sometimes caught a scene or two while cleaning. Dudley had given up on that dream one day when he had attempted to climb through a window and fell, hurting himself.

"Yes a real ninja. Do you want to be a ninja?" Neji had seen cases where civilian children over 11 were brought into shinobi training late, and they were unable to adapt. That is why the academy took children when they were younger. It gave them time to mentally build themselves up to the real horrors of a shinobi life.

"Not really. I d-don't think I could kill anyone...well not again." Harry softly replied, playing with his omelette.

"You know I found the best way to forget about my dirty hands is to distract them with something else." Neji stated.

"Distract?" Harry stopped trying to mimic Neji's movements with the sticks.

"Well, I like to meditate and when I meditate sometimes I move my hands like I'm painting a picture. I see it in my mind and I paint it in the air, it's a calming activity, which I use to tell myself that my hands can be used for both good and bad." Neji explained.

"So I need to find something like that too." Harry nodded to himself.

"Exactly. The food you made was delicious, do you enjoy cooking?" Neji prompted.

Harry blushed at the compliment. It was the first time someone had said they enjoyed his food. Harry looked away from Neji and asked himself if he did enjoy cooking. At the Dursleys' he just went through the motions, but on some occasions he would change measurements or add ingredients, and hoped it turned out well. So in a way he did enjoy it. "A little."

"Well we can start with that. While I am working you can stay here and experiment, or spend time at a restaurant in the village, and learn from them." Neji offered.

"I would like that." Harry agreed after a few moments of thought.

"Then finish your meal, and wash up. After you're done we will go into town and run some errands, including having Cubbi's leg looked at." Neji carried his dishes to the sink, and gave Harry another one of his barely noticeable, not really there, but it really is a smile, smile.

Once Neji was gone, Harry looked at the two sticks and thought 'How do I use these things?'

o.O.o

They took Cubbi to the same man who had helped Harry. The old man was very friendly, and Harry had liked him. He had set and bandaged Cubbi's leg, and reassured Harry that Cubbi would be just fine, except, he may not walk perfectly ever again. Harry didn't mind, Cubbi was his cat, and he would love him no matter what.

After that Neji had taken him to buy food for Cubbi, and clothes shopping. Harry found the entire experience surreal. Mainly because he had never picked out his own clothes before, and now Neji was asking him what he liked best. He had gone for basic and plain shirts that weren't too bright. Neji had seemed particularly happy when Harry had completely avoided the orange section of the store.

Neji had talked with the shop owner and the woman had happily offered to talk to her son about teaching Harry more about cooking. Her son owned one of the small cafes' in the village, and she had promised that if her son couldn't teach Harry, she would. She thought Harry was the cutest and most polite child, she had ever seen enter her shop, with his good manners and little kitten.

Once they left the clothing store, they stopped for lunch, and Neji taught Harry how to use chopsticks. Harry was happy that Neji didn't mock him or make any rude comments about his lack of ability. He had been patient and helpful, and even encouraged Harry by telling him that he was a quick learner.

Once they got home, Harry changed into a new outfit and stood in front of Neji. Neji had a contemplative look on his face as he studied Harry.

"A new name." Neji stated.

"Excuse me, sir?" Harry was confused about the random statement.

"Well, you have a new home, new clothes, and now I think a new name would help complete this fresh start." Neji explained.

Harry could see where he was coming from and happily agreed. It would be nice to not be Harry Potter. Thinking about it, Harry couldn't think of anything he would want to be called.

"Sir, would you name me?"

Neji had a look of surprise on his face, although once again, it was barely noticeable, but Harry saw the widening of the eyes.

"I think you should be called...Shou." Neji answered simply.

"Shou...Shou...Shou..." Harry tested the name out. "I like it."

"I'm glad. Now let's go over some rules. Number one: Never touch my weapons. Number two: No strangers allowed in the house. Number three: Don't go anywhere by yourself, unless it's to the restaurant to learn or back here."

Harry, now Shou, nodded his head and memorized every single word Neji said. He was determined to make this work. When Neji finished, Shou repeated every rule back to him. He smiled when Neji nodded in approval.

That night while Shou made stir-fry for dinner, a food that would be relatively easy to eat with chopsticks, he contemplated how he would tell Neji about magic.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: I own neither Harry Potter, or Naruto. Any characters you recognize, I did not create, but any you don't, well then I take complete credit for those.

**Warnings**: mentions of death, fluff, OOC'ness, OC'ness, Gen.

**Beta**: FEARMEfrancis

**Managing Magic**

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

The two residents argued back and forth. Shou and Neji had been living together for a month now, and while they had their moments of tender love affection, they also liked to fight- a lot. Neji was proud, and liked things to be structured. Shou was stubborn and while he enjoyed following schedules and stuff, he also liked changing the plans and winging it. That greatly annoyed Neji, and that is how they ended up in their current fight.

"I don't care if you think magic could help my mission, you are not coming with me." Neji firmly stated, mentally chiding himself for descending into a childish yes and no fight with the boy in front of him.

He had taken the news about Shou's magic easily enough. He was shinobi, he had seen and done lots of things, and magic just looked like a kiddy version of chakra to him. He maintained his opinion that magic was childish since he had discovered it while Shou was trying to turn Cubbi's fur pink. He had walked in, walked out, walked back in to make sure his eyes weren't fooling him, walked back out, and then walked in a final time knowing they needed to discuss this new development. Shou had opened up tremendously to him since that time, now that his biggest secret was out and accepted. He had celebrated by successfully turning Cubbi pink, and making cake. Honestly, changing colours, what practical use would that have in a battle?

"But I was reading about this spell that-" Shou tried arguing before he was cut off.

"No! That's final. I don't care if you can make raindrops into metal, or turn a man into a hamster; it's not safe for you so you are staying here."

Shou sent Neji a glare and pout before he huffed and sat down on the couch. "I just want to help..." Neji felt his face relax and anger drip away at the slightly mumbled words.

"You are helping. Every day I come home to a home cooked meal, a clean house, and your bright smile makes me feel happier than I have before." Neji softly explained.

Shou was silent for a moment before he let out a quiet 'fine'. Neji was relieved that another argument was over. He wondered if all parents had problems like this. Did all children like to fight and push you to the point where you wanted to run into the woods, rip out all your hair and scream, while contemplating the merits of becoming one with nature and never returning to civilized life? He didn't think he had been like that, but he was biased. Hinata hadn't been a difficult child, but Hanabi... Oh Neji remembered the pain and suffering that girl put one of their cousins through when he was assigned to watch her. Hanabi was a terrible child, and Neji had spent many nights thanking Kami-sama for Hinata's good behaviour.

"Do I have enough time to make you a bento before you go?" Shou asked.

Neji gave the boy a soft look and nodded. Quickly Shou scrambled up and dashed to the kitchen. Neji couldn't refuse his food. It was just too good. After just a month, Shou had seemed to absorb all knowledge of traditional cooking and was whipping up a storm. Tsukimori, his teacher, had been ecstatic at the prospect of a prodigy in his kitchen, and even started Shou on making food for the customers. Neji didn't mind since it kept Shou busy while he was away and had the added benefit that Shou brought home all leftovers from the restaurant, so Neji had a constant food supply he only needed to heat up.

Neji retreated to his room, and picked up his pack. He triple checked everything was there, before he put it on and walked to the kitchen. Shou was putting the finishing touches on his bento, so Neji took a seat and watched him. Neji felt a sense of foreboding settle in his abdomen, and he frowned.

"Shou, be extra cautious while I'm away this time alright?" Neji asked.

Shou paused, before he sent Neji a smile, "Okay". With that, Shou went back to walked, but Neji didn't feel any better.

Neji activated his byakugan and looked around the surrounding area. No one was near their house, but that didn't mean a lot. Neji kept his byakugan activated long after he accepted the food from Shou and had left. He was alert for any threats the entire time, hoping his feeling of dread pertained to him, and not the little boy in his care.

o.O.o

Shou hummed to himself as he worked in the garden. He found it relaxing and didn't mind shifting dirt, and planting flowers when his Aunt's harsh glare wasn't burning into his skull. It was nice to be able to take a break for a snack and juice when he needed. He enjoyed the sunshine, and creating a vast wonderland of plant life by hand. No setlines, structures, or neat English gardens here, just whatever Shou's mind and money could buy him.

A sound from behind him made Shou stop his activities. Shou stood slowly, and walked over to the area the sound came from. "Cubbi?" He called, looking at the ground for his kitten. Another sound and a foot entered Shou's vision. Following the human foot up to a leg, torso, neck, and face, Shou was surprised to see another person, and not the fluff ball he called a pet.

The boy was a few years younger than Neji, had short red hair, tanned skin, and dark eyes. He wore simple shorts and a shirt, no shoes, and carried a backpack. "Hello." The boy said with a warm smile.

"Hello." Shou responded, staring at the boy owlishly.

"Um..." The boy said after a moment's silence, since Shou wasn't going to start a conversation with a stranger. "I don't mean intrude, but I was travelling nearby when I heard you humming. I thought I would come check out who it was." He explained, shuffling nervously from foot to foot. Shou wondered if his feet hurt when he stepped on rocks, or if they had formed calluses long ago.

"Oh." Shou responded as he tried to stealthily sneak back towards the house.

The stranger seemed to sense his intentions and promptly blushed. "I'm sorry for scaring you or anything by just walking up like this. I know how it must look a complete stranger coming to your house to listen to you hum, so um... I'll just be going and leaving you alone now. See you around! Well maybe..." the boy rambled as he walked backwards away from Shou. When he was done, he turned and ran away, leaving Shou very confused over the entire event.

o.O.o

When Neji got home, he was highly agitated. Shou saw this and decided not to argue with the man if he could help it.

"I can't believe this just got harder." Neji groaned.

"What happened?" the wizard asked.

"I knew something bad was going to happen, but I didn't think it would be a third village joining this dispute. "

"Oh?"

Neji looked at Shou's scrunched nose and decided he should explain. "The two villages Tomizawa and Hayakura, have apparently started stealing farming land from a third village Nakatomi. When the Nakatomi mayor tried to get the two to back off and keep their fight to their own lands, they both rebelled and started trying to steal more land from them. Now it's a three way dispute."

"No magic?" Shou asked.

"No magic." Neji sighed.

"Well if anyone can stop them and have them all make peace it's you Neji. You don't take no for an answer." Shou stated.

Neji felt a small smile curl one side of his lips. "I appreciate the faith you have in me, but I decided it wasn't worth the headache and sent a message to the Hokage for some assistance."

"W-will they stay here?" Shou hesitantly asked.

"Probably. And depending on who comes we will need to keep your magic a secret."

"Will I be allowed to stay once they find out about me?"

"I already sent word of your presence to Tsunade after I invited you to live with me. The person who comes will be informed of you living here."

The pair settled into a comfortable silence after that, both lost in their own thoughts. When Neji's stomach rumbled in need, he turned his head, ready to ask Shou what was for dinner when he spotted the young boy sleeping. Neji didn't have the heart to wake him. Deciding that his stomach could endure cup noodles for one meal, Neji stood.

The action caused Shou to stir and two sleepy eyes looked up at him. Neji mentally cheered that he wouldn't have to suffer cup noodles, as he bent down to be level with Shou.

"Shou it's dinner time." He explained.

Shou nodded his head before the little boy sat up and stretched. "I'll make cup noodles."

"No." Neji argued. He wanted real food.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes." Shou argued before remembering his promise that he would not fight with Neji. Looking at the man Shou sighed. "Fine, no cup noodles. Natto." Shou stated before leaving the room, giggling at the small hint of shock and disgust on the shinobi's face.

"Shou!" Neji said in a slightly louder volume than normal, as he regally chased the little boy into the kitchen. "This is a natto free house!"

o.O.o

Two days later, Shou saw the stranger again. He was walking to the restaurant when he saw the boy walking his way. Shou was ready to run the rest of the way, when the boy walked into his restaurant, not even seeing him. Letting out a sigh of relief, Shou slipped into the alleyway to access the backdoor, and prepared to work.

Shou was content to work and not think about the boy. He did wonder briefly what the boy would order, but pushed it aside so he could keep working and listening to Tsukimori lecture about the proper way to make herring soba.

When he was finished for the night, Shou waited for Tsukimori to finish closing so the older man could walk him home. Neji didn't like Shou walking home at night when the less than pleasant group of teenagers emerged. It seemed that this night they had found a new target.

Shou was walking out of the alley when he heard a squeal of pain. Peeking around the corner he saw a group of five rowdy teenage boys pin the stranger to the ground and kick him, causing another squeal of pain- Shou cringed as he remembered how that felt. Ducking back into the alley, Shou ran to the back door and knocked on it. When Tsukimori opened it, he grabbed the man's hand and dragged him out the alley to help.

Seeing the situation, Tsukimori yelled at the boys, and scared them off. Tsukimori may have only been a chef, but his large stature easily scared the more cowardly people.

"Are you okay?" Shou asked as he reached the strangers side.

The stranger opened his eyes and sent a small smile at Shou. "I'm okay. It's nice to see you again."

Shou helped the stranger sit up, and did a visual check up on the boy. "My name's Minobu. Thanks for helping me." The stranger, Minobu, said to Shou and Tsukimori.

"You sure you're okay kid? I could take you to the healer." Tsukimori offered.

"No, no, I'm fine. I think I'll just return to my hotel room though." Minobu waved off the concern.

"My name is Shou," the wizard finally remembered to introduce himself. "We can walk you back to your hotel if you like." He offered.

Minobu gave him a kind smile but he just stood up. "I'm fine, you should get home though." Minobu said after he tilted his head in contemplation.

"If you're sure you're okay kid..." Tsukimori trailed off.

"I'm fine. Night you two, see you around." Minobu called before he turned and walked off, whistling to himself. Shou watched him until he turned a corner and disappeared.

Shou decided that if he saw the boy again, he would try to befriend him.

"Let's go Shou. I don't want Neji hunting me down because I brought you home late."

Shou laughed a little. "He'll only be mad because I won't be home to make him his bedtime snack."

The older man let out a booming laugh but clapped a hand to Shou's shoulder to steer him away.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**: I own neither Harry Potter, or Naruto. Any characters you recognize, I did not create, but any you don't, well then I take complete credit for those.

**Warnings**: Death, Magic abuse, OOC'ness, OC'ness, Gen, and well whatever I can think of later

**Beta**: FEARMEfrancis

**Surprise Surprise**

Shou could tell Neji was feeling on edge about something, but he wasn't sure why. Neji had explained to him that an old friend was coming from Konoha to help him with his mission, and Shou didn't see the problem. Neji would finally get to see someone from home, and that should make him happy right? Unless Neji wasn't worried about seeing an old friend, but a friend seeing Shou. He could understand that. The Dursleys always liked him out of the way when they had guests, and why should Neji be any different. Yes; Neji was different in private, but he hadn't seen the man around the people he actually cared about. There was always room for Neji to change his thoughts about Shou.

"Neji...do you want me to leave?" Shou decided to ask.

"What? Why would you ask that?" Neji sat up straighter and pinned Shou with a worried look.

"It's just... I understand if you don't want your friend to see me." Shou tried to sound nonchalant about the whole thing, like he didn't care that Neji's next words could drive an invisible knife through his heart.

Neji sighed, and Shou prepared himself. "Shou, I would like nothing more than to introduce you to everyone I know, and watch them coo over how cute you are. But I am worried that they will say or do something to hurt you. I don't know which person is coming from Konoha but majority of the people I know are not the most...sensitive."

Shou took a moment to process Neji's words. The man seemed to be concerned for him, and how he would be treated, which was a new experience for Shou. "So you don't mind them seeing me?" he needed to clarify everything, to understand and accept that Neji was different from the Dursleys in private and public life.

"No Shou. In fact, I can't wait to show you off and brag. I know Uzumaki will be jealous at least." Shou saw the small arrogant smirk appear on Neji's face. That smirk didn't appear often but when it did, it was usually when Neji was talking about beating this Naruto Uzumaki. Shou really wanted to meet the man that made that expression appear on his calm and levelheaded guardian.

A knock on the door cut any further conversation. Shou's nerves were back as he silently followed Neji over to the front door. He peeked around his guardian and watched attentively as the shinobi opened the door and stepped back. Shou followed his lead, and the sight that greeted him made his eyes bulge slightly. There in the doorway was the largest dog Shou had ever seen; and that included Hagrid's Fluffy. The dog was huge with white fur, one head, and floppy ears. What shocked Shou even more was that there was a smug looking man sitting on the dog's back, looking completely relaxed and comfortable.

"Help has arrived Hyuuga!" The man said as he casually slipped off the dog.

"I see they sent the idiot to help. That will make this mission go faster." Neji replied in a bored tone with a sarcastic edge.

Shou didn't pay attention to the adults as he kept staring at the dog. The monstrous dog that had noticed him and was slowly lowering its head to try and sniff him. Shou scuttled further behind Neji, only letting his eye's peek around the man's torso. The Dog didn't seem deterred as it lightly butted Neji's body out of the way and tried getting to him again.

"Idiot, call your mutt off before it eats my charge." Neji commanded.

"Charge? Akamaru sit." The man asked than demanded. When the threatening wet nose left him alone, Shou ventured further out from behind his saviour and took in the man's appearance.

The man was tall, maybe an inch taller than Neji, and had choppy brown hair, and a red fang like marking on each cheek. He wore black pants, and a black shirt under a black leather jacket, and even though Shou knew he was a shinobi like Neji, he didn't give off the same dangerous feeling like Neji did.

"Shou this is Inuzuka, Kiba. Idiot this is my charge Shou." Neji said in way of introduction.

Shou gave a small shy wave to the man with a giant dog, and mentally went over every courtesy Neji had taught him so he wouldn't offend the man. "Would you like to come in for some tea Inuzuka-san?" Shou asked.

The man, Inuzuka, gave him a huge grin that showed off two sharp canine teeth. "Sure little guy." Without any prompting Kiba walked into the house and through to the sitting room.

Neji gave an annoyed sound, but quickly followed after he glared at the dog. The dog stayed outside, and Shou not knowing what to do just closed the door and fled to the kitchen to prepare tea and snacks. He got the feeling that his peaceful home life with Neji was about to get very interesting very fast with Kiba around.

o.O.o

Kiba settled down on a comfortable pillow and smirked at the older man across from him. "So I see you picked up a cute little house husband."

Neji sent him a small glare. "I found Shou passed out in the woods on my way here. After acquiring him treatment, I could not find his family. I then learned he was abused and decided he was better with me." Neji explained. He didn't want any misunderstandings between them if they were to work and live together until this mission finished.

Kiba's face softened. "I understand wanting to protect the kid, but don't you think he would have been better off with a civilian family instead of being put in a dangerous household?" Kiba asked.

"I had considered it." Neji replied. "But he was growing attached to me and I could see it would have hurt him more if we separated."

"Hurt him or you?" Kiba asked with a surprising amount of insight.

"It doesn't matter, Shou is here to stay." Neji stated firmly.

Kiba gave him a considering look before he wiped all serious off his face and reverted back to his normal semi-goofy grin. "Hey little man, those snacks smell delicious." Kiba called.

Shou rounded the corner looking completely confused as to how Kiba knew that, and the Inuzuka just grinned in a knowing way. Neji felt a headache coming. He could see the following weeks fill with Kiba messing around with Shou, and then at some point Shou being dragged into it all, and slowly becoming a small Kiba clone. Neji needed to stop that from happening.

"Shou, ignore him. Always ignore him." Neji commanded.

Kiba gave him a pouting look when Shou simply nodded his head and set the tea things down, not looking in Kiba's direction as he poured everyone a cup."That's just mean Neji-chan."

Kiba dodged quickly as a boiling hot full teacup was thrown at his head. The ceramic cup smashed against the wall, but that didn't put an end to the mayhem as Kiba rushed out of the room. Neji was quick on his trail, pulling weapons out of various hidden spots in the walls. Shou watched it all in a state of awe. When all he could see was a wet wall, and hear various crashes and curse words, from the rest of the house, Shou decided he should clean up. Who knew if one of the men would come back and hurt themselves on the broken cup.

Looking around to ensure he would have a few moments of privacy, Shou bet down and pulled to his wand. A quiet 'Reparo' and the cup was back together, and looking like new. Magic really did make cleaning up faster. Hearing the fighting dying down, Shou stood and decided he should make lunch. Maybe fish and that new recipe he learned...

o.O.o

Kiba moaned lowly as they walked through one of the fighting villages, eyes closed, free of a certain large white eyesore, and a face of bliss. Neji had demanded Kiba leave the mutt at the house since the dogs presence would probably terrify the villages. Neji tried to ignore him, but he kept moaning and mumbling under his breath. It was very irksome.

"What is the matter with you?" Neji snapped.

"I was just remembering that cake Shou made last night. It was the most delicious dessert I have ever had. And it came right after that fish. I did not know you could make fish taste like that." Kiba praised.

Neji's eyebrow twitched. "Yes Shou can make good food, but can you stop talking about my charge while making those indecent noises."

"Just... that sweet rice. Rice cannot taste that wonderful." Kiba went on, ignoring Neji's words. Neji was tempted to hit the other shinobi, but knew it would only make his job harder since he would need to carry the man to the meeting. But it was a very tempting idea. "Do you think I could take Shou with me back to Konoha? I'll take good care of him."

Neji grabbed a kunai and was close to slitting the other man's throat when the sound of approaching footsteps stilled his hand. Looking to the side, he saw they had finally arrived at the Town Hall. Neji didn't want to endure another meeting with the village's big shots complaining about this and that, but he couldn't ignore it either since he needed to get to the bottom of this.

Neji was about to walk inside when Kiba's hand shot out and grabbed his arm. Giving the Inuzuka a questioning eyebrow he noticed that all previous behaviour was gone, and the man was on high alert.

"Hyuuga...do you notice something off about the citizens?"

Neji scanned the crowd but didn't see anything different. They were average or low class villagers walking around doing their shopping. It seemed all very normal to him. "What are you on about Idiot?" he asked.

"Listen closely." Kiba stated.

Neji strained his hearing, as the oblivious villagers walked by him. He didn't hear anything out of place. So he mentioned that. "All I hear are their footsteps, and their money clinking together."

"Exactly." Kiba said. Neji just gave the Inuzuka a look telling him he didn't follow the man's line of thinking . "These are the lower class citizens. I know you wouldn't understand this but at this level they wouldn't have enough money to bang together to make such a noise." Kiba explained.

Neji still wasn't getting it.

"Look Hyuuga. You come from a rich clan just like I do, except your clan likes to flaunt their money. The Inuzuka's save so we can afford to feed all the dogs and run the Kennel. We don't have enough money to just carry around. These villagers shouldn't either." Kiba whispered.

Neji was starting to understand.

"They would be hard pressed for money, so logically while they may have a coin or too, they wouldn't have enough for a few coins to hit each other, but still be muffled by the paper bills. The sound is completely wrong for them. It's the money sound that a success merchant would have."

"So you're saying they have more money than they should, and we should look into this." Neji replied.

"Exactly. These big shots wouldn't be that generous, especially with this fight going on. They are getting outside revenue, but from where and why."

Neji gave his partner a considering look. "Maybe the Hokage wasn't completely wrong in sending you here." It was the closest thing to a compliment he would give the Inuzuka. "Now let's get inside."

Kiba nodded his head and followed the older shinobi into the meeting room. They were both prepared for a long boring afternoon.

o.O.o

Shou was bored. He had read a few of his magic books, but even those only kept his interest for so long. He wanted to do something else but he wasn't sure what. Digging through Lavenders old bag, Shou felt his hand connect with something cool and smooth. Pulling it out, he admired the stolen rock he brought with him.

The Philosophers stone looked exactly the same as it did the night he stole it. It was shiny and red, smooth and pretty. It didn't look like an object that could grant eternal life, or turn any object into gold. It was just a pretty rock that one could put on their mantle as a display piece.

He turned it over a few times in his hand, and admired the rock. "How do you work?" He whispered to it. The rock didn't respond obviously but Shou wasn't expecting it to. He tried squeezing it, rubbing it like a genie's lamp, begging it, and even blowing warm air on it and polishing it. The rock did nothing. Shou started getting impatient.

"Well what do you want me to do?" he asked the rock. "Say 'Oh Holy Rock, please share your elixir?' Suddenly he felt the rock jerk in his hand, and a stream of white liquid splashed him in the face. Shou sat there in shock. 'Well that's weird' Shou thought.

The little wizard looked around trying to see if he had anything close at hand to wipe the liquid away with. It was slightly sticky with a faint sweet aroma and making his face feel weird. He was about to get up and go to the bathroom when a small mew invaded his thoughts.

Cubbi limped into the room, and tilted his head at his dirty owner. Shou was tempted to pet his kitten, except he didn't want to get any of the elixir on his kittens fur. Cubbi didn't seem to mind, as the feline walked right up to Shou and started licking the substance off his fingers. Shou pulled his hand away quickly, and said "No Cubbi", but the feline climbed into his lap, propped itself up and started licking the elixir off Shou's face.

Shou pushed the cat off him, and stood up. Cubbi let out an annoyed hiss, but Shou walked didn't care. He didn't know what the liquid would do to Cubbi, and he really didn't want to test it. The feline seemed to give up, and just lay down, occasionally flicking his tail back and forth.

When the tail stopped moving Shou got worried. He used his toe to nudge Cubbi. The action spurred the cat into jumping up and hissing at him in annoyance before his cat walked away normally. Wait... normally? Shou quickly scrambled to follow his kitten, and watched as the customary limp had all but disappeared. Cubbi still seemed a little off center, but the limp was practically gone.

Shou raised a finger and wiped some of the elixir off his face and stared at it. It didn't...but it could...but still...was it possible? Shou grinned. He had some experiments to try, and people to potentially help.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**: I own neither Harry Potter, or Naruto. Any characters you recognize, I did not create, but any you don't, well then I take complete credit for those.

**Warnings**: Death, Magic abuse, OOC'ness, OC'ness, Gen, and well whatever I can think of later

**Beta**: FEARMEfrancis

**Lookout for Logic**

Shou hummed as he danced around the house, cleaning as he went and just trying to amuse himself. It was lonely without Neji and Kiba around. Although Shou had not gotten along well with the rough and gruff shinobi at the start, he slowly warmed up to the man when he kept Akamaru out of his garden, and complimented his food. Shou was sure that his instructor would be proud of him. Shou had found a book on household charms, and while he practised, since you never know when you could need them, he generally preferred cleaning by hand. It wasn't much in the way of proper exercise but Shou refused to become dependent of magic and end up fat like Uncle Vernon.

Shou had started on another song when he heard clapping from behind him. Whipping around, Shou smiled at the sight of Minobu. "Minobu what are you doing here?" Shou asked.

"Well I promised I would stop by yesterday." The older boy explained. Shou nodded, but then another question emerged.

"How did you get passed Akamaru and inside?"

Minobu looked sheepish and coughed nervously. "I guess that huge dog is Akamaru? ...I saw him and he scared me so I snuck in from the back. I hope you don't mind, but I thought you were going to be eaten, and needed to get inside to save you."

Shou blushed. An image of him being locked in a tower with winged Akamaru guarding him from Knight Minobu appeared in his head. "You make me sound like a girl!" Shou scoffed.

"Ne, aren't you? You cook, clean, and I bet you would look great in a little pink dress." Minobu teased.

Shou shuddered, and then shouldered his way past Minobu. Shou put all his weight into the hit, but it didn't seem to make a difference, so Shou frowned and walked towards the kitchen. "Just because I can take care of myself unlike some people I know..." Shou stared pointedly at Minobu, "doesn't mean I am a woman."

Minobu chuckled. "Of course not Shou-chan. I bet that if you went to a bigger village the girls would flock to you."

Shou grinned. "Exactly. They would sense my manly aura and be impressed."

"They would, and then they would ask for fashion and hair tips." The older boy tacked on.

Shou scowled. "No they wouldn't." Although Shou didn't actually want anymore girls hounding him for his attention, he still felt the need to defend his manhood.

"You are very slim for a teenage boy Minobu. Maybe you just want a partner when everyone mistakes you for a girl." Shou went on the attack.

The red headed boy grinned. "We could wear matching kimono's and paint our faces all pretty. Wouldn't that be fun Shou-chan?"

Shou's plan wasn't working.

"Do what you like, but you are not dragging me into your craziness. Now would you like some tea?" Shou asked.

"Sure. But do you mind if I use your restroom?" Minobu asked. Shou shrugged his shoulders and pointed the boy in the right direction.

o.O.o

Neji glared at Kiba as he calmly ate the bento Shou had made for him. "I don't see how you can listen to civilians pockets with how loud you're eating."

Kiba paused from inhaling the food and grinned. "I already heard everything I need to know. This village's pockets are lined like the other two. Someone has been paying them to fight."

Neji felt a headache grow. "Wonderful."

"So what do you want to do?" Kiba asked.

This was a tricky situation. While it was obvious that Neji needed to find the person responsible, it would upset the villagers. They seemed to be benefiting quite well from the man's plans, and they would be furious of their money supply was cut. It was also good for Konoha since the villages hired shinobi and had to pay a service tax for having the protection of the ninja. Lately two of the villages had been slow on payments since they claimed to be near bankrupt. Now that they had money, Konoha could collect those fees. The person was feeding the village, and that was feeding Konoha.

On the other hand, if Neji didn't stop the person and the villages from war, a long standing treaty with Konoha would be broken, and then Konoha would lose out on some income. All three villages offered supplies that Konoha needed, and they couldn't simply search for another supplier. It was a tricky situation to be in, and Neji wasn't sure on which route to take. His mission was to stop the warring villages but with this new player it made things difficult.

"Kiba, can you take a report to Konoha and ask the Hokage what she would prefer us to do in this situation. I will write all the findings and my opinion on the matter, but she does have the final say."

"Sure, but while I'm gone you should at least search out the moneybags and keep an eye on him." Kiba suggested.

"Yes I will. He or She has a motive for all this, and I need to figure out what it is. It could be one of the Leaders pulling the strings, or another official. I need to know where all the money came from to start with."

Kiba spent some time thinking and Neji let him as he picked at his food. Missions usually didn't turn out like this. Shinobi were known for going in, killing, and getting out. Diplomacy was new to Neji and while he would have liked to smack the leaders on the back of the head and tell them to get over it, he knew that it wouldn't work. Civilians were touchy like that. Not wanting to be hit and have the truth delivered to them bluntly. It's like they expected shinobi to be these soft spoken pets. They were killers! Neji didn't like talking to civilians purely because most saw shinobi as trained guard dogs. Their level of respect for the people who protected them was terrible.

"Have you checked the financial records of the villages? I mean you might see if one village has a large discrepancy and that's where the hidden money is coming from." Kiba tried to explain his thoughts.

"I can ask for their books tonight and look over them. I'm not sure if they would willingly give them up." Neji answered.

"Don't give them a choice, just steal them."

Neji gave a hidden smirk at that. It would be nice to steal what he needed and not have to deal with long-winded self-important annoyances. "I think I will."

"Good." Kiba grinned. "Now let's go, cause I'm sure Shou has made some great snacks." Kiba jumped up.

"Could you stop taking advantage of my ward!" Neji demanded. "He is not a servant."

Kiba just kept grinning without a hint of guilt. "You know my mother's cooking. You could use her rice as a lethal weapon. It's nice getting good food."

"Just don't get used to it. Once we're back in Konoha you are never entering my house." Neji warned.

"So... you're taking the chibi back with you to Konoha?"

Neji glared at the other man. "Why wouldn't I?" Neji wouldn't just abandon Shou and he was offended that the Inuzuka would assume as much.

"Calm down man. I'm just saying that you will be taking kid from a relatively safe and isolated village to a shinobi village. It's like plucking the kid from a flower field and throwing him into the Forest of Death." Kiba pointed out.

"Shou was..." Neji wasn't sure what to tell the other man. He didn't want to reveal Shou's past without his permission, but at the same time it would be hard to explain why Shou depended on Neji so much and why Neji was determined to keep him in a stable and safe household. "He needs me and I will keep him safe, here and in Konoha." Neji swore.

"I wish you the best of luck Hyuuga." Neji nodded and then started packing up his stuff to leave. He wanted to steal those records and get a report off to Tsunade by tomorrow at the latest.

o.O.o

When Neji arrived home, Shou had tried to tackle the man with a strangling hug. The house felt empty without the man's calm presence occupying it.

"Neji! Guess what!" Shou bounced up and down excitedly.

Neji gave a small indulgent smile at the boy. "What has you so happy, Shou?"

Shou leaned in close and looked around suspiciously for Kiba. When he didn't see the man he whispered, "I finally got to work on the restaurants special ramen recipe today. They told me the secret and everything." Shou pulled back with a jaw breaking grin on his face.

"And what was the secret ingredient?" Neji asked in a conspiring whisper.

Shou looked around again before smirking. "Chef's secret." Shou winked and laughed when an aggravated groan came from around the corner.

"Ahh! Chibi you know you want to tell us." Kiba moaned as he walked into view.

"Nope. It's an S-class restaurant secret." The Inuzuka didn't seem to happy after that remark.

"Chibi you gotta give us something."

Shou took a moment to think before he smiled again. "Well I do have something new that I hope you're willing to try..." he trailed off. He wasn't sure how well it would work but it was worth a shot. The elixir was said to make the drink immortal, but when Cubbi licked it, his limp disappeared. Plus when Harry cleaned it off his face he noticed that his cheeks had more colour and were a bit more full. The sunken cheek bones were slowing disappearing and he looked healthier. But that was pure elixir. Shou couldn't just walk around handing out vials of a strange white substance, it wouldn't go over well.

"Sure kid, what have ya got?" Kiba asked as he already made his way to the kitchen.

Shou followed and set to work preparing tea. Once he finished he poured two cups of green tea and then took out the small bottle of elixir he had managed to salvage. Shou carefully added one drop of elixir to each cup and carried them over to the two tired shinobi.

"What did you add?" Neji asked. It wasn't a suspicious tone just curious.

"A new secret ingredient I discovered while you were away." Shou explained.

The two ninja eyed the cups before Kiba seemed to lose his patience. The Inuzuka picked up the cup and inhaled the light, fresh, soothing fragrance that Green Tea always produced. He couldn't smell anything else which was weird considering he saw Shou add a foreign ingredient. Taking a tentative sip, the only difference he could detect was that the tea was slightly less bitter than normal. Seeing that as a good sign, Kiba drank more of the tea. A wave of clam passed through Kiba before his body started feeling more energized. Kiba didn't think regular green tea had that affect, and it only upped his curiosity at Shou's secret element.

"Whatever you added, I feel great." Kiba said in a sigh. Shou was at his side instantly, and for Kiba it was a strange experience being under those bright emerald eyes scrutiny.

"Just great? Anything else? No adverse effects?" Shou asked quickly.

Kiba wasn't sure what the kid was up to but he answered truthfully. "Nah. I just feel a lot more energized. More than I did this morning when I woke up."

Shou nodded than looked at Neji. The Hyuuga member slowly drank from the cup and hummed. He finished his cup and lightly placed it down. Kiba saw the moment the drink kicked in. Neji's shoulders relaxed and he sat a little straighter. His eyes and expression stayed in that same Hyuuga mask of coolness, but Kiba knew that Jounin was feeling the same burst of energy as him.

"How long does this last for?" Neji asked simply.

Shou shrugged his shoulders. "You're the first I'm trying it on. Though Cubbi's limp is gone, and has been for a few days." Shou explained.

"I have to leave tonight to gather some documents. Would this... ingredient work in water or just tea?"

Kiba smirked. He saw where Neji was going with this. It would be a great benefit to shinobi if they could add this... white stuff to water on missions. A sudden energy boost that seemed to have no ill effects like a soldier pill, it would be regarded as a gift from the gods. Kiba knew how hard the body crashed personally, since he took those pills quite often. As he aged the recovery time was taking longer, but if this tea would eliminate that... Kiba would kiss the kid and steal him away from Neji forever.

"Um... I'm not sure. I was thinking of adding it to food. Maybe give some to the elders of the village and see how it helps them."

Neji nodded. "Be sure to keep notes and watch them carefully."

"I will." Shou left after and Kiba turned towards Neji.

"You're going to let the kid experiment on old people?"

Neji shrugged elegantly, which Kiba didn't think was possible, and cast his pupil-less eyes on him, "It keeps him out of trouble."

* * *

Did you know : A picture of Gandalf the Grey (from The Lord of the Rings) can be seen in the collection of great wizards in Professor Dumbledore's study in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Seriously I googled that!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer**: I own neither Harry Potter, or Naruto. Any characters you recognize, I did not create, but any you don't, well then I take complete credit for those.

**Warnings**: Death, Magic abuse, OOC'ness, OC'ness, Gen, and well whatever I can think of later.

**Beta:**FEARMEfrancis

**Tea Time**

Shou crouched down really low in his hiding spot. He was currently on break, but before he had left the kitchen, he dropped two drops of the Stone's elixir into a teapot. The tea was destined for an elderly couple that had always been kind to Shou. The little wizard really liked the couple, and knew that if any two people should benefit from the effects of the elixir, it should be them. He carefully tracked the path of the teapot from the kitchen to the couple's table. Haru, the woman, carefully poured a cup of tea for both of them. Shin, the man, slowly raised the cup to his lips and drank. Haru followed and together they placed their cups back down. Shou waited.

Shou strained his eyes, trying to stop himself from blinking in case something happened in that millisecond that he couldn't see, but nothing did. Shou sighed. Maybe he needed to add more elixir to the tea? He had dropped more into the tea he served Neji and Kiba, but he wanted to start small as to not overwhelm the subjects body, or have the elixir make some very noticeable differences. The last thing he needed was for a group of elderly people to suddenly be youthful again. That would bring attention and scrutiny onto the little village, and would harm it more than any good Shou granted.

Shou seemed to be waiting for nothing, and soon his legs were starting to scream in protest from having crouched too long. Shou sadly stood and walked back to the Kitchen. It seemed that one drop didn't have much of an effect, or it did but neither Shin or Haru were voicing it. But on the other hand, Shou remembered something from his muggle science class about dilution.

The teacher used a glass of water and dropped food colouring in. The class had watched avidly as the drops sank but then spread, colouring the water. The red drops had turned pink, and the teacher explained that the colour was diluted. She then explained further by using a cup of apple juice and pouring it into another glass of water. The usual bright colour had dulled in the water, and the teacher handed out a small cup of the juice to everyone. When the class drank the juice, they complained that the taste was gone. The teacher then reaffirmed her point on dilution.

Shou remember that class because Dudley had started crying about not getting the juice he was promised. The large crocodile tears had sent the teacher scrambling for another apple juice box, and giving it to Dudley to get him to be quiet. It was well known to the school staff what would happen if you got on the Dursley's bad side. Dudley had quieted down after that, but he didn't finish his diluted juice. Instead, he dumped in Shou's lap and laughed while he told everyone that Shou had peed his pants.

Shou shook off that thought. The Dursley's weren't important anymore- Dilution was. Shou figured that the one drop had been too diluted and that it couldn't properly active whatever healing magic that the elixir contained. It was like the apple juice. You got a hint of the original apple taste, but not enough. He didn't want to give the couple pure elixir, because that would be too drastic a change, but also because Shou didn't think walking up to the pair and saying "Hey, please drink this mysterious white substance," would go over well. Tomorrow he would just need to add two drops.

The next day when Shin and Haru entered, Shou was ready with their usual tea order, but with the two drops of elixir. He quickly made his way back to his hiding spot and watched the couple. He needed to know if two drops would make a difference, or at least more of a difference than one drop made. Once again, Shin was the first to drink. When the man set his cup down, he smiled.

"I don't know what Tsukimori is doing with his tea, but I feel more energized. Like yesterday, but this time it doesn't feel like it will wear off once we leave." Shin described.

Shou's eyes went wide. One drop had worked! But the effects wore off fast according to Shin.

Haru chuckled. "Yes, my joints feel better. Less pain." She explained.

Shin smiled wider that the news. He lightly grasped his wife's hand and brought it to his lips for a chaste kiss. "I'm glad. They have bothered you too long."

Haru smiled. "Oh you old goat. It's only temporary. Once we stand I'm sure the pain will be back."

"Happy thoughts dear, happy thoughts. We could ask Tsukimori for his recipe, maybe he will be willing to part with it if he knew it was helping your joints."

Haru scoffed at the thought. "A business owner would never part with his secrets. If he did, there would be no reason for us to return and spend our money." She argued.

"Then we should be glad for our savings. I will spend every last yen we have to give you a few minutes reprieve from pain." Shin declared.

Haru just smiled fondly at the man, and picked up her cup again. Shou decided that it was time for him to leave. He had learned a lot from spying, but now the couple deserved their privacy. Shou walked back to the kitchen and towards his bag, He pulled a notebook from it, and wrote down what he learned. Two drops were sufficient in tea to cure joint pain, and restore energy. He would still need to find out when the effects wore off, but until then, Shou would try the two-drop tea on another couple.

o.O.o

The second couple Shou decided to test on were Kobayashi and his wife. Kobayashi was a quiet and stern man, and he would escort his wife everywhere since she was blind. They would often come to the restaurant and Kobayashi would listen as his wife rambled on about everything and nothing. She never saw the waiters or the other patrons; she would just talk and know that Kobayashi was listening.

The main reason that Shou picked this couple was that he was curious if the elixir would have any effect on the eyes. His eyes hadn't been healed when he got a face full of elixir, but it might be different for other people. Shou wanted to know if the elixir just helped a few things, or it targeted the consumers most problematic area. Cubbi's leg was fixed, and Shou was healthier. Neji and Kiba just got energy, same with Shin, but Haru had her joints targeted. The elixir prolonged life by turning back time. In theory, Kobayashi's wife eyes should be fixed, but what if she had other health issues that took precedence, or all she got was more energy to walk around and talk? Shou's head was full of questions and 'what if's'. He wished he could just sit down with Nicholas Flamel and apologize to the man for taking his stone, and then ask a series of questions about the elixir.

Since that really wasn't possible, Shou was just going to have to continue to experiment and see what happened. With that thought in mind, Shou settled down to watch as Kobayashi and his wife drank his two-drop tea.

"Did Tsukimori change tea?" Kobayashi's wife asked after she took a drink.

"Is there a problem?" Kobayashi asked.

"It's just sweeter. I don't think I can properly describe it, but the underlying taste is the same, but the first second it touches the tongue, there's something different." Kobayashi's wife explained. "It's not like any tea I have had before, especially not green tea. Maybe he switched suppliers and they have a new farming method? I heard once that if you pick a tealeaf at a certain time of the day, that it affects the taste. Maybe the new farm picks them at dusk or something."

"Maybe." Kobayashi responded.

"But then again, why would Tsukimori need to change tea suppliers? It could be the water. Did he add something to it? Or is there something that was added to the water supply that none of the residents have discovered? But I think we would know if it was the water supply, the whole village uses the same water. Have you tasted anything off about the water lately?"

Shou was getting impatient. Kiba had mentioned that the elixir did alter the taste a little but not a lot. Plus, Shin and Haru never commented on it, but now Kobayashi's wife was completely focused on it, and not giving Shou any hints if the elixir was working. He just needed her to concentrate on her body, and not what caused the slight taste alteration to the tea. Shou was trying to mentally communicate with Kobayashi's wife by repeating 'Focus Woman!' in his head. When Shou was ready to call it quits and retreat back to the kitchen, something happened.

"Oh!" Kobayashi's wife exclaimed suddenly.

"Is everything alright dear?" Kobayashi asked. The worry in his voice was prominent.

"Oh it's nothing..." She seemed a little hesitant. "I just thought I saw a flash of colour, that's all."

Kobayashi sat up straighter. "Are you sure?" he seemed overly anxious.

"Yes, but it was just for a moment. Maybe I'm tired and my mind is playing tricks on me." Kobayashi's wife tried to wave it off.

"What colour?" Kobayashi was quick to ask.

"Dear, it's really nothing. I'm probably just tired. I thought I saw green. The same green as the Yukata I bought you on our 20th wedding anniversary. Like I said, it's probably just my mind."

Shou couldn't help but grin. He also wanted to do a happy dance, but in his current position he would be sure to get caught, and he really didn't fancy having to explain why he was spying on patrons. He was happy because Kobayashi was currently wearing a green Yukata, and if the shocked expression on his face was anything to go by, Shou would bet it was the same Yukata that his wife bought him so many years ago.

Shou quietly retreated and walked back to the kitchen. He was getting somewhere with this elixir.

o.O.o

Neji raised a single eyebrow when Shou returned home grinning like a loon and bouncing in place. His little charge was obviously happy about something, but instead of indulging Shou's desire, Neji continued to read through the village expense reports. He was waiting to see how long Shou lasted before the boy finally burst with his good news.

He didn't have to wait long.

"Do you want to know what I did today?" Shou hesitantly asked. Neji wanted to frown at that but he didn't want to give Shou the wrong impression. Apparently, there was still some habits and insecurities he needed to help Shou work through.

"I am eager to hear."

Shou grinned widely again. "I helped people. Like really helped people!" The boy stated joyfully. "I helped get rid of Haru's joint pain and I even let Kobayashi's wife have a second of vision. If I continue to give them the elixir then maybe they can see again or be able to walk down the road and not need a break to rest from pain. I- I..." Shou was getting flustered. "I helped in a non violent way. No one got hurt and I used my own hands to make the tea, pour the elixir, and deliver it to them. I..."

Neji was quick to draw Shou into his arms when the boy started sniffling. He could understand where Shou was coming from. The boy had tried to help in the past but someone usually got hurt. And In the very last time Shou tried to help, a person died. It was probably a startling situation to be in because Shou was able to physically help people and there be no adverse effects. Neji didn't know how to comfort the boy or what soothing words to tell him, so the Hyuuga merely held his charge.

"I'm very proud of you." It was the only thing that Neji could think, but he felt like it had been the right choice.

* * *

Did you Know?

The tattoos on Sirus Black's body are borrowed from Russian prison gangs. These are to identify a person as one to be feared and respected.

And Now You Know…


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer**: I own neither Harry Potter, or Naruto. Any characters you recognize, I did not create, but** any **you don't, well then I take complete credit for those.

**Warnings**: Death, Magic abuse, OOC'ness, OC'ness, Gen, and well whatever I can think of later.

**Money Moment**

Neji was lightly napping at the table with Shou curled into a ball in his lap, when Kiba entered the house. The Inuzuka heir was a bundle of energy and could barely restrain himself from jumping on Neji when he spotted the jounins guard down. The only reason he stopped himself was the sight of messy black hair peeking around the older shinobi. Quietly, Kiba walked closer to Neji and bent down to see Shou sleeping like a cat in the Hyuuga's lap. Reaching out, Kiba was going to wake the Byakugan user, but just before his hand touched the Hyuuga, his wrist was captured in a vice like grip and a kunai was to his throat.

"Calm down Neji… it's just me." Kiba whispered.

"I know." Neji gripped harder, and Kiba was worried that his wrist would break, but the Hyuuga just released him. "What did Hokage-sama say?"

Kiba smirked when he saw Neji's hand drop down and lightly run through Shou's hair. The man was still an emotionless prick to everyone else, but he really showed affection towards the little brat he picked up.

"We're to solve this without alerting them. She thinks that if they believe their benefactor simply disappears they won't get upset at Konoha for cutting them off. We'll solve this thing, spend a month or so hanging around pretending we're still working on it, but when the villagers accept that moneybags is gone, we'll disappear too." Kiba explained.

"And the debt they owe?" Neji asked.

"Tsunade-sama said she will send someone to collect it after we go. After all, did they really think they could hide all that money from us?" Kiba sat back and smirked.

Neji readjusted Shou and lifted the boy as he stood up. "We'll talk more once he's in bed. Then we can plan our next course of action. "Neji didn't wait for a response as he walked away. He took Shou to his room and made sure the boy was comfortable for his afternoon nap before he returned to the Inuzuka.

"Now that Hokage-sama has given us a direction, how do you think we should handle this?" Neji asked. He would never admit it aloud, but sometimes the Inuzuka heir had some good plans.

"Find him?"

Sometimes. Neji had to remind himself that 'sometimes' the Inuzuka could surprise people with a brilliant plan, just not all the time. Neji sighed and rubbed his temples. "Do you think you would be able to track him with any lingering scent left on the money he's handed out?" Neji asked.

Kiba tilted his head back and let out a long drawn out "Ano." The canine boy tilted his head back and forth for a bit before he sat up and grinned. "It would be hard since the scent had probably faded, but if we get our hands on some of the money Akamaru and I could keep it close for reference as we search."

Neji nodded and stood up, ready to head out and rob the first dirty villager they came across. "I'll lift a money pouch now, and you rest from the journey. Just keep an ear out for Shou." Neji instructed.

Kiba let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his head. "Sure…"

The Hyuuga's eyes narrowed as he stared at the boy. "What did you do?"

"Well…" Kiba started. "Going to the northern village may be a bad idea at the moment…" He trailed off.

"What. Did. You. Do?" Neji ground out. The Northern village was the closest and would have made Neji's trip a whole lot easier.

"Akamaru and I got hungry on the way here so we stopped and he may have seen a rabbit or something because he chased it, but you know his size and he might have knocked over a few villagers and broke a stall or two. I tried paying them back but I think they caught on that I stole the money from someone else since they took it all and chased us out of the village." Kiba rambled quickly in an attempt to explain.

"You!" Neji started to yell, but he clamped his mouth shut. Closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, Neji forced himself to calm down. He couldn't be angry at Kiba. He knew the boy was trouble so he shouldn't be surprised that such an event happened. In fact, he should have prepared for this to happen since Kiba showed up on his doorstep. It's like when Naruto decides to visit the Hyuuga compound to see Hinata. Once the Byakugan clan knew he would be coming, they would prep and prepare the house for whatever destructive force he could bring. It's worked out well so far, and Neji needed to start applying the same logic to when Kiba is out and about. When is a ninja ever over prepared?

"Fine…I'll just go to the eastern one today." Neji decided.

"Why not just use a henge?" A child voice suggested.

Neji turned slightly to see a sleepy Shou standing in the doorway. Neji froze for a second before his mind caught up. "But if there is another ninja in the vicinity they would notice the use of chakra and could potentially ruin the mission if they get curious." Neji explained.

Shou frowned before he smiled at the Hyuuga. "I didn't even think of that. You're really smart Neji, you must be the best ninja from your village." Neji smiled softly at the innocent childish adoration shining through Shou's face. Neji preened slightly at his comment of being the best.

"What! He's not the best!" Kiba objected loudly.

Neji glared at the mutt. "Quiet." He snapped. "Don't ruin his imagination." He whispered so Kiba would hear him, but Shou wouldn't. "I'm going to head out now. Shou, make sure the idiot doesn't destroy the house."

Shou straightened up and any tiredness that was left in his face vanished. "Yes, Sir!" the little boy saluted.

Neji walked past his charge and ruffled his hair. Neji didn't need anything except what was already on him, so he headed straight for the door. Kiba was quick to catch up to him though.

"So you're going to the Eastern village?"

Neji smirked. "Of course not. I'm going to the Northern village and using a henge." He explained quietly and simply just before he walked out.

Kiba chuckled and shook his head. Of course, the Hyuuga would be too proud to admit to his charge that he had failed to think of the simplest solution. Turning, Kiba ran through the house searching for Shou. "Shou-chan! Bake me something please!"

o.O.o

Shou was just finishing the cupcakes he made when he heard a knock on the kitchen window. Looking up, he was surprised to see Minobu on the other side, grinning at him.

"Minobu-kun!" Shou cried as he scrambled to open the window. Once it was open he jumped on the counter to talk to his friend comfortably. "What are you doing here?" Shou asked.

"Well I was bored and I thought I would come by and see if you were still awake." The older boy explained.

Shou smiled at the boy and offered him a finished cupcake. "I was baking these. Want to try one?"

Minobu grinned as he snatched the treat and bit off a large chunk. He chewed quickly and swallowed. Shou giggled at the crumbs that clung to the boy's face, and Minobu, catching on to his friends amusement, flicked out his tongue to clean them up. "Delicious." The boy declared.

"Shou-chan! You gave someone else my dessert?" Kiba whined as he entered the kitchen.

Shou rolled his eyes at the man and tossed another cupcake his way. Kiba snatched it out of the air and crooned as he cuddled it to his chest. "Shou-chan always makes the tastiest things."

Minobu chuckled and leaned in the window. "He does doesn't he? I feel like I am being spoiled every time I visit."

Kiba broke out of his cake induced euphoria and regarded Minobu with a suspicious look. "Who are you?" The question had a hint of hostility to it that caused Minobu to blink and lean back out the window.

"Um… Minobu. I met Shou a few weeks ago…" He hesitantly replied.

Shou pouted a little and hid the rest of the cupcakes. "Kiba-kun, you shouldn't be so mean to guests." He chided.

The Inuzuka stared at Shou in disbelief for the light scolding before he turned away. "I'm just looking out for you. You ever know, this Minobu kid could be that mad men were searching for."

Shou laughed. "I don't think Minobu is your target. He's too nice to do such things."

Minobu grinned and leaned back through the window and quickly kissed Shou on the cheek. "Aww, thanks for defending my honor Shou."

Shou blinked at the unexpected action. Turning his head slowly, he stared at his friend in shock. "Minobu…?"

The red-head grinned and winked at Shou before he turned and walked away. "I'll see you soon Shou!" He called over his shoulder.

"That bastard!" Kiba raged behind him.

Shou turned his attention to the Inuzuka, and laughed. "I don't think he meant it Kiba-kun." In an attempt to calm the fuming shinobi, Shou tossed another cupcake his way.

Kiba snatched it from the air and angrily ate the treat. He was still upset that something like that had happened to Shou on his watch.

o.O.o

When Neji arrived home, he found Kiba pacing the living room. "What did you do now Inuzuka?" He asked.

Kiba turned on him and started babbling with a slight edge of madness. "What did I do? What did I do? I did nothing and that's the problem! I should have chased that brat down and beaten him to a pulp. I should have stopped that bastards lips from getting anywhere near Shou, and I should have protected our sweet little innocent child's purity. That's what I should have done, but I didn't!"

"What happened to Shou?" Neji asked. He was telling himself to keep calm and listen to everything Kiba had to say before he rushed Shou's room to check his charge.

"Some… some…" Kiba flailed his arms around. "Demon brat! Came by and kissed him on the cheek like it as an everyday thing." he declared.

Neji raised a questioning eyebrow at the younger shinobi. "I don't think you should have children anytime soon Mutt, especially if this is how you react over such small matters."

Kiba stopped his flailing and regarded Neji with disbelief. "Why aren't you more worried about this? Some little shit is trying to steal Shou away."

Neji chuckled at the man's actions. "Shou is 11. He hasn't hit puberty yet and some boy or girl kissing him doesn't mean anything to him. Right now he's probably already forgotten about it. Once Shou starts noticing others in a more intimate light, then I will worry. Until then I will just relax in the knowledge that Shou is too oblivious and innocent to understand the implications of such an action. Besides, if someone really tried to steal him away, they wouldn't get far before meeting a very bloody end."

Kiba seemed to calm down some. "I guess you're right… but I still don't like that look of that kid."

Neji shook his head. "You see if you can get anything off this," Neji threw a money pouch at Kiba, "and I will check on Shou."

Kiba grabbed the pouch from the air and quickly opened it. Neji watched him for a moment but turned to check on his little charge. It was funny watching Kiba freak out over a kiss like that. Entering Shou's room, Neji smiled at the picture the boy made. He was curled up in a ball under his blankets, and only the top of his hair was showing.

Neji bent down and lowered the blanket to see Shou's face. The boy looked so peaceful as he silently slept away. Leaning forward Neji brushed a kiss over Shou's cheek, before tilting the boys head to the other side and repeating the action. No one was allowed to mark Shou like that until Neji was good and ready to let his charge go. Until then, any boy or girl hoping to steal Shou's heart would be in for a very long and arduous battle.

* * *

**Did you Know….**

On the Quidditch trophy that has Harry's father's name on it, there are additional inscriptions for M. McGonagall

**And Now you know…**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer**: I own neither Harry Potter, or Naruto. Any characters you recognize, I did not create, but any you don't, well then I take complete credit for those.

**Warnings**: mentions of death, fluff, OOC'ness, OC'ness, Gen.

**Peachy Keen**

Neji and Kiba got their first lead on a suspect from a wizened old woman who sold pickled fish. Her hands were wrinkled and worn but she could still wield a knife like nothing as she cut, cleaned, and deboned the fish in front of her. It took a lot of skill to ignore the chopping and slicing and focus on the woman and her words. As she spoke her knife made little slashing motions through that air as she gestured and made a stabbing motion at an important point.

"Couldn't see his face, always covered up, but he came by here a few times offering me money," crooned the woman. "I can tell you that he was young. Had a young voice, a young way of speaking, and his energy screamed youth. It wasn't good energy either, seemed a bit mad if you know what I'm getting at." She stabbed her knife in towards their heads. It was nowhere near hitting them, but they could see the area she was motioning to,insinuating that his mind was off.

"And he offered you money to fight the other villages?" Kiba asked.

"He did. But I didn't take it. Once you hit this age there is nothing left for you to hold onto except your pride. I told him to go away, leave me alone and never come back. But he did. A few times, always offering me more money. Near the end he changed though. Seemed a bit more off. Started threatening me." Her voice was rough but still held strength.

"How often did he come, and when was the last time he visited you?" Neji prompted.

The old woman gave a hoarse chuckle. "Oh he came once a week. Always slithering up the side of the house. Last time I saw him was right before whispers of you coming started spreading. A shinobi, from the leaf village, was coming to look into our affairs. The last visit instead of threatening me he asked questions. Wondered why the shinobi would be coming to us. Here he was bribing us and he doesn't know the history of our village.

"I told him, I did, that we pay for Konoha protection, keeps the other shinobi off our backs so we can live peacefully. I said it was about time they showed up and ran him of, ruining our way of life with his money and silly demands of war. He wasn't too happy, wondered why we got the shinobi protection when the other villages around here didn't. I tried to explain to him that we're smarter, knew what we needed, and acted, while the others buried their heads and hoped for the best. Right funny one that one, cause once I said that he laughed. Laughed loud and long, and then said that he felt even more justified." The woman waved her knife carelessly as she shrugged her shoulders, not understanding the suspect at all.

Neji frowned. There were getting somewhere, that was true, but now more and more questions were coming up. When the woman first started talking, Neji wondered if the suspect was a feudal lord's son that ran away and was trying to have fun at the villages expense. It would need someone with a large cash flow to be able to pay off so many people. Missing-nin didn't tend to have large bank accounts because they moved so often, and any black market crime boss wouldn't be interested in three little villages. It was confusing trying to figure out this man's motive.

"Did he say anything else?" Neji asked, hoping for more information.

The old woman took a minute to ponder. Her knife stilled as she thought , and without any movements the wrinkle's in her face become heavier, deeper, showing how the years beat down her body, yet her mind was still sharp.

"He did mumble. Just as he was leaving last time. I could tell he was angry, his energy changed slightly, become more rabid," she explained. "He said he would finish what those in the past started." Her knife fell and chopped off a fish head, the loud thud of the blade hitting the wood ended the conversation. There was really no more she could tell them.

Well there went the 'having fun' theory, and put the suspect firmly on the 'revenge' path. But it also gave him something else to investigate. There is a shared history between these villages, and once Neji finds out what it is, then he will be one step closer to finding the suspect.

o.O.o

Shou did it. He finally figured out exactly how we was going to spread the elixir of life to those around him with little to no suspicion. The answer was simple really, but considering he wasn't born and raised here, it had taken an offhand comment from a customer for him to figure it out.

Shin and Haru had returned, and sat down at their usual table. Shou had gathered their usual tea things, and dropped another two drops into the pot before bringing it over. He smiled at the couple and as he was walking away he heard Shin speak.

"I feel like Tsukimori has stolen the secret of longevity from peaches," He joked.

Shou hadn't understood at the time what he meant. How did peaches have anything to do with long life? Shou remembered how Aunt Petunia had insisted on eating cabbage at least once a day because she heard from her hairdresser that her grandmother had lived to the ripe old age of 102 because she ate cabbage every day and that her hair was so healthy and strong too. The hair dresser joked about maybe taking up a cabbage diet if it meant that following in her grandmother's footsteps. From that day forward, Petunia had stuck to a cabbage diet, although she joked with the ladies of the neighbourhood about old wives tales.

When asked, Tsukimori told Shou about a stranger that had come long ago to the village. He looked like them, yet not… it was hard to explain since it as so long ago and Tsukimori hadn't actually been alive at the time- he heard all about it though from his mother. The stranger had proclaimed that he had peach buns that would ensure longevity. He told them about a woman who once owned a magical peach tree that would grant long life to those who ate a peach. He then claimed to have had found a way to mimic the magical peaches and was now selling them to anyone who wanted to try them.

The villagers had happily bought some at the start but when they discovered the buns were merely steam buns with a lotus filling, painted pink, they had laughed the stranger out of the village. Since then it had been a joke that peaches made people immortal. The elders would go to the birthday celebrations of their friends and teasingly ask "How many peaches did you eat to get here?" of "Where you keeping all your peaches? You got to share with the rest of us!"

When Shou heard the story, he knew that was what he needed to do. He would infuse the elixir with the lotus paste, which was already fragrant and sweet, and make a newer, better, and actually working peach bun to sell. He could piggyback off the story of the stranger and present his own longevity buns and then he would never have to explain magic and rocks that shot liquid in your face. It was perfect. Except, Tsukimori didn't know how to make peach buns…

It was time to experiment.

o.O.o

Neji volunteered to look into the North Villages records for any significant event that could help; anything that mentioned a boy, someone with lots of ryo, or an incident that might incite revenge. Kiba in turn, decided to go to the East village, ask around a little more, try to find out local history from the civilians. He really wasn't one to sit in a dusty records office and wade through scroll after scroll of boring characters. Neji wasn't either, but he felt like he would be the least likely to destroy the place.

The scrolls talked about how this farmer did well, or how that farmer's crops had been ruined. There was a scroll about how the mayor's daughter had an inappropriate _'encounter'_ with the butcher's son. A lot of scrolls sounded like pure gossip to Neji, which told him that the record keeper at the time was a frivolous person. He knew more about the affair between the daughter and butchers son than he did about why one farmer lost his crops. He really didn't think he was going to get anything from this.

Neji couldn't believe he was reading some of this stuff. The Butchers son seemed to have been a very busy boy, because Neji read three different scrolls of his indiscretions. Neji was disgusted that the boy's father didn't take a firmer hand with him after the first time. "Tsk, if Shou ever did any of this…" Neji trailed off.

Neji scoffed and shook his head. "Shou would never act like this." He would make sure of it.

Neji picked up the next scroll and threw it away in disgust. Apparently the butcher's son, who was never named, had been caught stumbling drunk through the market at night with his pants about his ankles. A young boy had been screaming for something, when he had run into the butcher's son, thus bringing a crowd, and catching the boy in another bout of scandal. The scroll had detailed how the butcher had pushed through the crowd and dragged his son off by the pants, not even bothering pulling them back up since everyone had seen it all already. Did this village really need to record such things?

An hour passed, and Neji gave up. The record department literally had nothing of use to read about, and it was a waste of his time to keep looking. Groaning as his muscles stretched, Neji stood up and left. He might as well follow Kiba and start asking the older generation about anything significant. Old people did love to tell stories.

o.O.o

Shou entered the market with a determined air about him. He had carefully plotted what he would need to make the peach buns from his teachings with Tsukimori about steamed pork buns, and his own memories from cooking in England. He had his list of ingredients, and he hoped he only had to make this trip once because there was a lot.

He took a single step forward, ready to haggle down the merchants but then stopped.

"Shou!"

Turning, Shou felt a smile blossom on his face at the sight of Minobu. His friend was jogging towards him, his red hair flopping around his face, and a stick of candy hanging from his lips. "Minobu, what are you doing here?"

Minobu stopped beside him and grinned down. "I thought I'd buy some fruit. What about you?"

Shou's face fell back into his determined mask. "I am going to make peach buns and need the ingredients," he explained.

"Peach bun? Like a bun with fruit in it?" Minobu asked.

"Something like that," Shou answered vaguely.

Minobu quickly snatched the list from his hands and looked it over. The older boy hummed as he reached the bottom. "This is a lot of stuff but no peaches… do you need help carrying it?"

Shou eyed up the older boy with his slim frame and skinny arms that hid wiry muscles. Shou smiled again. He wasn't much, but he was an able body, and a lot stronger than Shou. "Would you?"

"Of course, let's go yeah?" Minobu handed Shou the list back and gestured towards the stalls, just waiting to sell their goods.

"Okay! We'll get the lighter stuff first, and save the flour for last since it's big and bulky," Shou said as he led the charge into the market.

"Yes, Master!" Minobu chirped with a grin on his face. Shou laughed lightly at the older boy, and together they stormed the market, ready to conquer it.

o.O.o

"History of this village? What's there to know?" A dusty shopkeeper asked. He was a gruff man and had very heavy frown lines. He eyed Kiba up and down, as if looking for something specific. "Bastard shinobi always looking at things they have no right looking at," the man cursed.

"Father!" The man's daughter reprimanded him while shooting Kiba an apologetic look.

"What? There's no reason to trust or talk to a shinobi. They're down right useless, they are!" The man stormed off to the backroom of his shop.

Kiba grit his teeth to still his tongue. It would be so easy to just kick the man's knees out and make him apologize, but he couldn't. He was on a mission. He needed to act in a professional manner since he was representing Konoha.

"I'm sorry," the woman whispered. "It's just… well he doesn't like shinobi much since my mother died. A bad man was ruling our village, keeping us all on a short leash and when we asked Konoha for assistance it came too late to save my mother," she explained.

"What happened?" Kiba was intrigued. He knew Konoha wouldn't just ignore a plea for help.

"Well, some man came into town one day. He was charming at first, offering to help our merchants travel safer, swifter to sell their wares. It lasted awhile, we suspected nothing, until one day the people, the traveling merchants started to thin. Quickly we were losing our imports and then our merchants were being held in the village by the man. His grip on us started getting tighter and tighter, until he controlled us all out of fear. He killed few people who tried to defy him and sneak out. One man managed it and made it to the next town where he sent off a missive asking for help. The man caught him and executed him in the square. It wasn't pretty.

"My mother was a sort of nurse. One woman, who was pregnant, got sick about two weeks after the execution. It was the dead man's wife. My mother tried to help her, but the woman was dying fast and so was the baby. She told the man she needed to go to the next village and get medicine. She even offered up all her jewellery to pay for passage. The man allowed it, but my mother never came back. They had killed her in the forest when they learned that while getting medicine she had sent a message off to Konoha for help, describing how desperate we were. My mother, the pregnant woman and her baby all died."

Kiba sucked in his breath. The story was horrible, but he had to commend the brave woman who risked her life to save her village. "But Konoha must have come if you are no longer under that man's rule," Kiba pointed out.

"They did but the man was already gone. When he learned about the second message, him and his men packed up and left, no longer wanting to push their luck. Someone heard about a water village where he could control all the boats that imported and exported. He left and it was several weeks later that a shinobi finally showed up, but the damage had been done. We lost a lot of people, and my father well… he was of the opinion that the shinobi should have been more aware of the villages near them. If they were then my mother may still be alive."

Something about her story spoke to Kiba. There was something about it that told him it was important to know. "Who was that man?" Kiba asked. If he could learn more about this mysterious man, maybe he could find their suspect. Was it the same man? Did he want revenge for having been chased off years ago?

"Gato. His name was Gato," the woman told him.

Well fuck… this was going to more difficult than Kiba thought.

* * *

**Did You Know?**

Natalie McDonald, who appears on page 159 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was a real person. She was a nine-year-old girl from Toronto, Canada, who was dying of leukemia. She wrote to Rowling asking what was going to happen in the next Harry Potter book, as she would not live long enough to read it. Rowling emailed back, but Natalie had died a day earlier. In tribute, she became a first-year student at Hogwarts named by the Sorting Hat in Gryffindor. When Rowling was later in Canada for a promotional tour she visited the McDonald family.

**And Now You Know…**

People have asked where I get the facts from. Google for one and it led me to blog. (Ohnotheydidnt dot livejournal dot com/ #ixzz1zsv5boVd) check it out if you like.

A/N: Before anyone gets up in arms and says 'Hey now, peach buns are Chinese! They wouldn't exist in the Naruto-verse, because it's Japanese.' True… but, I did say the stranger was like them yet different. If Harry can jump dimensions than so can others! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer**: I own neither Harry Potter, or Naruto. Any characters you recognize, I did not create, but any you don't, well then I take complete credit for those.

**Warnings**: mentions of death, fluff, OOC'ness, OC'ness, Gen.

**Home Is Where The Heart Is**

Shou giggled as Minobu scratched his nose and left a white mark from his flour covered hands. Once they gathered the ingredients, Minobu had offered to help Shou make the peach buns. Together they burst into the kitchen and in the process left a large mess.

"Well, I think that's the dough done," Minobu stated with a relieved sigh.

"I'm almost done the filling. Are you sure about this?" Shou asked.

"Yes yes," Minobu said with a wave of his hand. "I figure it will be just like making steamed meat buns. We just replace the filling and try to shape the bun into a peach like … shape," Minobu explained as best as he could. Shou knew he wasn't completely sure, but it was a better starting place than working with a bread recipe from Europe.

"I'll trust you," Shou stated simply, happy to have someone there to help him figure this out. "Do you cook with your mother?" Shou asked to get a conversation going. Minobu's face fell, and Shou instantly regretted his questions.

"No… my parents died when I was young. This isn't a safe place where we live after all… but I grew up with my uncle. He taught me many things, like how to enjoy the finer things in life…" Minobu trailed off and looked down at his slightly worn clothes, "-not that I've taken that lesson quite to heart, and among other things was how to make great meat buns." Minobu effortlessly diverted the conversation. Shou laughed quietly at Minobu's little bit of rebellion as the boy continued on. "Making meat buns can be considered an art you know. It takes a lot of time and patience in order to find the way to make a perfect meat bun."

Shou mentally gave a sigh of relief. He didn't like talking about his parents so he wasn't going to push someone to talk about their dead parents either. It was only common courtesy after all. But it seemed that while it still looked to hurt Minobu to mention them, he was still able to keep his upbeat personality and clear away any awkwardness. "Well let's put those perfect meat bun making techniques to work. What's next chef?" Shou asked, going along with his friend's game.

Minobu laughed. "First we need to cover the dough and let it rest and rise. After that we will split it into portions and let it rise again. So until then, how is your filling coming?" Minobu expertly wrapped the dough and set it aside.

Shou glanced down at his bowl and tried to push it aside. It hadn't turned out quite like he imagined. Minobu wasn't having any of that though, and reached around Shou's body and pulled the bowl back into view. A white, lumpy, watery mess met his sights and Shou flushed in shame.

"I don't know what happened," Shou quickly blurted out. "I boiled the lotus seeds like the merchant said and then took them out of the water and tried to ground them into a paste but they were so hard, so I boiled them some more, but they were still hard, so I tried grinding them with water and…well this happened."

Minobu gave him a kind smile. "These are your buns, who says you need to include lotus paste? How about we go back to the market and pick up some fruit and make a filling from that. It just needs to be sweet and delicious right? We can also try red bean paste."

Shou beamed at the older boy. "Peaches? Can we buy peaches and make these real peach buns?"

Minobu chuckled and turned away. "Sure. I don't know why peach buns excluded peaches to begin with anyways. Now let's go quickly. We need to prepare the filling as the dough rises."

Shou scampered off to his room to grab the money Neji left him for food and was by the front door in no time, ready to go and urging Minobu to hurry up.

o.O.o

"This is everything we know about the current situation, and our one and only lead. Should I go back to Konoha or do we send a message asking for information and keep investigating?" Kiba asked.

Neji sighed and rubbed his temples. "I don't know. I don't see how these two events connect. A young man has been paying off the villages, which is a fact. We are looking for a young man, with a large bag of money. The only grievance we can find between the villages is that instance when Gato controlled the East village, and the other two villages did nothing to help, even when they knew they needed assistance and that people were dying. But Gato is dead and he is the only one with enough money to pull something like this off that would have a problem with the townspeople. They have to be connected somehow but I don't see it because Gato is dead."

"Did he have an apprentice or something?" Kiba asked picking theories from the air.

"I don't know. We know nothing about Gato besides what we learned from Naruto. If he did have an apprentice, why now? Why after so many years did he return and target these three villages?" Neji asked out loud. He really didn't expect an answer, Kiba knew as much as he did, which was next to nothing.

"We won't know until we find more clues." Kiba pointed out.

Neji sighed again. "Which we won't find easily because the townspeople are hardly going to cooperate with us. There has to be something else we can do."

Kiba made a humming noise, and leaned against a tree. They were in a clearing that was perfectly positioned between all the villages including the one they were residing in. Depending on their next course of action they were able to travel to any single one village quickly.

"I think I like the 'go in, kill, and get out' missions more than these mystery ones," Kiba whined.

Neji scoffed. "Same, but I rather do these missions instead of staking our village's reputation on someone else who could be less competent than me. Even you're a better partner on this mission than someone like…" Neji cast around for a name. "Konohamaru or Lee. Neither is good at picking up the small details and you have matured to the point where you don't burst into the scene with kunai flying before asking questions."

"Thanks?" Kiba didn't know if he should take that as a compliment or not. But now he felt a small pressure on his shoulders, telling him to think of something to prove to the Hyuuga that he was useful and worthy of the praise 'being better than Lee'. "We could retrieve Akamaru," Kiba suggested. "We still have the stolen coins; maybe he can track the scent."

"I thought we vetoed that idea because of all the different scents," Neji pointed out. They attempted to try it before but the money had changed hands so many times that Akamaru had just been walking in circles.

"I was thinking about that, but the villages hardly interact now right? What if we steal money from the other two and see if Akamaru can find a similar scent between them and follow that. The culprit has to have handled all the money so his scent should be left over."

Neji stared at the Inuzuka, wondering if this was really the same boy who used to fart on flowers and present them to girls while laughing. They do say that with age comes wisdom, and the Inuzuka had been very helpful of late, so maybe he shouldn't be too surprised. "I think it's worth trying."

Kiba pushed himself off the tree and stretched his back muscles. "Okay, I'll get the East village you get the west, and then meet at the house for dinner with Shou. Oh…I bet he made something delicious for dinner too," Kiba said as his eyes glazed over slightly at the thought of Shou's cooking.

"Just steal the money quickly and get back. I don't want to hear about another accident," Neji reminded the younger man.

"Stop your complaining. I bet I can steal the money and get back before you," challenged Kiba.

Neji scoffed. "Not likely Inuzuka. I'll win." Neji jump into the trees and took off, flying across the branches to reach his destination. He wouldn't lose to an Inuzuka.

o.O.o

Shou cheered as he bit into a peach bun. The managed to make several fruit filling, and moulded the dough into the corresponding fruit shape. They had steamed them for 10 minutes, let them sit for a few minutes so they wouldn't lose their shape and took them out to marvel at a job well done.

"These are delicious," praised Minobu. "You did a very good job."

"No, these were all you. You made the dough and helped with the filling. You deserve all the credit," Shou responded.

Minobu smiled. "How about we both equally share in our victory, okay?"

Shou agreed, and happily finished off the delicious bun. It really was lovely, and he couldn't wait for Neji and Kiba to try them. He would see which fruit filling would work best to blend with the elixir and then he would distribute them to the village. He would do it carefully though, he didn't want to raise any suspicion, and he wanted to make sure there were no negative side effects.

"So do you have the dough recipe memorized or should I show you again?" Minobu asked.

"I got it, but be on standby just in case," Shou answered already reaching for an apple bun.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. I should get going soon though," Minobu said as he sighed. "It's getting late."

Shou glanced at the clock and frowned, it was getting quite late and he would need to start dinner soon. "Would you like to stay to eat? I don't think Neji or Kiba would mind."

Minobu laughed. "Kiba? The one with the short brown hair from last time?" Shou nodded. "I think he would mind. He didn't seem happy with me last time I was here."

Shou lightly swatted his friends shoulder in punishment. "That was because he thought you were eating his treats."

Minobu laughed again and shook his head in amusement. "I don't think that was why he was upset. But I'll stop by tomorrow and you can tell me how they liked the buns. Maybe I'll bring beef so we can make meat buns too."

Shou reluctantly agreed. He didn't want to send his friend away without food, but if Minobu insisted that he couldn't stop him from leaving. "I'll be working the lunch shift tomorrow, so can you come after that?"

"I'll wait for you in your garden," Minobu assured him. With their plan confirmed, Minobu left and Shou was left looking at counter wondering what he was going to make.

o.O.o

Later, when Neji and Kiba had returned, the two shinobi waited until Shou was asleep before speaking about their mission. They wanted to keep the young boy as far removed from the situation as possible. Shou wasn't cut out for the ninja life-style and they would never put him in a dangerous situation if they could help it.

"I sent the letter to Konoha earlier on my way to the west village," Neji informed his teammate.

Kiba nodded. "Should we wait for word or go out tonight and search for the culprit?"

"It's risky because we don't know how dangerous our opponent is. I would like to wait for more information but I don't see Konoha having anything that can help. Team 7 didn't exactly sit down and have tea with the man before his death and Zabuza is in no position to talk," Neji explained.

Kiba sighed heavily and snatched a bun off the counter and fiercely bit into it. "This is frustrating," he said around a mouthful.

"Since there is so much we don't know, what we can do is find where he is staying and set up surveillance,"Neji suggested. "The most important thing is finding him."

"Well there's no time like the present," Kiba stated between bites. "Let's go find our bad guy."

Neji nodded, but before leaving he stopped by Shou's room to make sure the young boy was still sleeping. Sure enough Shou was curled up sleeping peacefully, sharing a pillow with Cubbi. Reassured that his charge was safe, Neji walked outside to see Kiba holding three coins up for Akamaru to smell.

"Maybe we should wait until we reach a village first and see if he can trace the culprit from there," Neji threw out.

"Right," Kiba answered as he closed his fist around the coins. Akamaru whined and pawed the ground. Kiba frowned at his partner.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure," Kiba answered. "But we need to go. We might be able to surprise him while he's sleeping or something."

Neji agreed and they set off. They didn't say anything as they travelled, too focused on finding this moneybags and putting an end to his games. The only things awake this late were the two shinobi, the ninja dog, and the stray owl that flew over them.

* * *

**Did You Know That…**

"Morsmorde" is the command that makes the Dark Mark (the mark of Voldemort) appear and means "take a bite out of death" in French, making it an appropriate call for Death Eaters.

**And Now You Know…**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer**: I own neither Harry Potter, or Naruto. Any characters you recognize, I did not create, but any you don't, well then I take complete credit for those.

**Warnings**: Death, Magic abuse, OOC'ness, OC'ness, Gen, language

**Fire Call**

If Neji didn't know they were looking for a single suspect, he might have suspected the South village being behind the disturbance between the North, East, and West villages. While the three were fighting over land, the fight reached further and went into food. The East village, known for its livestock, stopped selling to the other two villages. This left the North and West butcher in a bit of a pinch since their money came from selling that meat off. The only thing left for them to do was sell the few chickens they each raised and count the gold they received from Moneybags. In turn, the North village that was closest to the water stopped trading fish to the other two, and the West village had a surplus of fruits. With nowhere to push their goods, and the merchants that were frightened from travelling from one village to the others, the entire load was ushered down to the South village where it was sold off at a very low cost. The residents were practically stealing the food from the other three villages, but at this point none cared for money because Moneybags was throwing it around like dirt.

In conclusion, the South got to be rich in resources and saved money by buying food at a low cost, the other three could only count their money and eat the limited choice of food given to them, and Moneybags got to see the three villages struggle.

Neji felt a little sad to be ending the South villages ability to eat heartily at low cost, but at the same time he wanted this entire mess to be cleaned up so he could return home to Konoha, with Shou. He didn't want to bring the little boy to a village of fighting and death, but he was at more risk living outside Konoha's protective walls than in. And at this point Neji was too attached to the boy to let him go off to another family. In his mind, Shou was his responsibility, his to care for, and no one was going to take that away.

This is why he wanted to find the suspect quickly so that he could take Shou back home and make him a Hyuuga. Neji and Kiba decided to start at the West village and work clockwise to the East to find their target. It was their plan to see if the suspect had one hide out or possibly three each hidden in a different village to make it easier to pay off the residents. If he had three, it would be harder to track him, since they wouldn't know which one he was in, and if he moved around while they were searching. If he had one, it was be beneficial to them since they could corner him, and cut him off from taking supplies with him if he managed to flee.

Akamaru had sniffed the coins and put his nose to the ground, looking for a scent to follow. He managed to find it but the scent only led them around the village to important places like, the Town Centre, the butchers, the cleaners, and the restaurant district. It was the path of someone who knew who to look for and how. Where did most residents go? The butchers, the town centre, etc…Those areas would have a large traffic of people making it easier to hand off bribes and not be seen as suspicious. Other than those places the trail led out of the village and to the north.

"So it's possible he only has one base of operation right?" Kiba asked.

Neji frowned slightly and gave a soft long sigh. "No. This was the last village to join the fight so it's probable he set up a base in the North and East. I'm almost certain the suspect will have a base somewhere near the East village but it's safer to assume that he will have one near the North as well. If we neglect that line of thought, we could be missing a very valuable lead or the suspect completely," Neji reasoned.

"I guess. To the North then?"

'North," Neji said as he nodded towards Akamaru to take the lead.

The large dog barked in compliance and put his nose to the ground to read the scent again. They had spent an hour or so in the West village following the trail, which time wise wasn't bad.

The journey was swift, and when they arrived, it seemed Akamaru had more to trace. The ninken was almost having a fit with all the trails left by the culprit. They decided to take it slowly and asked the dog to follow the closest one. Akamaru understood and together the trio walked towards the outskirts of the village where they found a broken down shack.

Activating his Byakugan, Neji spied inside the shack and was disappointed to find it empty. Opening the door slowly, to avoid any traps, Neji peeked inside to ensure that nothing hazardous was waiting. Satisfied that it was clear, he opened the door fully and stepped aside for Kiba to enter first. The dust on the floor was disturbed, but not too recently.

Kiba looked inside briefly before scoffing and stepping back. "He only used this place once and it was to hide," the Inuzuka muttered bitterly. "If you notice the path of the footprints he stayed near the door. He stepped inside and turned right away. He was probably hiding, and sticking to the door to listen for noises. I don't think we will find anything helpful here."

Neji shot his partner a look, before nodding his head to the side to get the younger clan heir to elaborate more. He was curious as to how his partner could pick up something like that so quickly.

Kiba chuckled nervously and looked away. "When I saw them it reminded me of when Akamaru was little and he used to try and hide after eating Nee-chan's meat or peeing on my mother's flak jacket. The footpath was the same, the first big step into the room," Kiba pointed out the footprint. "Followed by the turning step and then the cluster of footprints were he adjusted himself as he leaned against the door."

"So he was hiding but from whom?" Kiba shrugged his shoulders and started looking around again. Neji watched his partner for a moment before laughing. It was obvious as to why the suspect had broken his path and hid. "Kiba, he hid because of us," Neji announced.

"How so?" Kiba turned towards him again.

"I can't be sure but we must have dropped in one afternoon when he was doing his rounds. He saw or heard us and hid in case we picked him out. Before, he could freely roam the streets because all the residents knew of him or didn't care. He was never threatened and the only thing that changed was our appearance. That must have been the around the time he stopped going to the old fishing woman. He was scared from such a close call."

Kiba hummed. "You're probably right. So we've been close to him yet didn't know it…that kinda pisses me off," Kiba grumbled. "I mean here we are working our asses off to find this guy and he just walked by us one day and hid in here. Bastard could have at least left a hint or something."

"Why would a man trying to hide from us leave a hint?"

"Don't all those crazy guys leave hints? I know I have found a few targets because of the trail of women, destruction, or markers they left behind to taunt us," Kiba reasoned.

"But here's the difference, we have dealt with shinobi in the past. I don' think this guy is a ninja," Neji explained. "Let's get out of here. We won't find anything. We need to keep looking."

The duo left the shack and had Akamaru follow the next lead. They walked around the village in the silent early hours and were disappointed to find nothing until the sun started peaking and Akamaru stood up straight and stared off towards the East.

"What is it boy? Find something?" Kiba asked, his draining energy instantly perking back up.

Akamaru barked and shot off, leading the duo to the edge of the village and behind an old armory. The building was pretty rough, and looked like a good solid gust of wind would knock it down, but together they ventured in through the back door. All the old tools were still there, and it looked like any ordinary workshop until Neji spotted a trap door under one of the tables.

Moving carefully Neji activated his eyes once more and made sure that no hidden enemy was going to pop out. Once he confirmed that they were alone, Neji bent down to get closer to the door and lifted a corner. Nothing happened, so he lifted the door a little more and tried to peer into the darkness. He couldn't see anything, but he was still cautious. Lifting the door a little more he heard the soft 'shick' sound of a match lighting. Knowing nothing good ever comes from that sound, Neji dropped the door in an instant. "Kiba, Run!" he yelled.

The Inuzuka dropped the box he was looking and ran out the door, without looking back. After years of missions and trial and error, when a fellow shinobi said run, you ran. They weren't genin anymore that stood in one place and asked 'why', they were wise enough to run first and ask questions later. Sometimes questions weren't even needed, like in this case. As soon as they both cleared the building, the entire structure exploded, blasting the two shinobi off their feet and making it rain debris. The remaining ruins quickly caught fire and as it grew higher and higher Neji couldn't help but sneer at that sight.

"This man is very annoying," Neji bit out.

"Was that his hideout?" Kiba asked as he stood and dusted himself off.

"Maybe, but he obviously wasn't planning to return," Neji watched the flames for a moment and sighed. "Kiba, how high are those flames?"

Kiba looked at the fire and caught on quickly. "High enough to be seen from the East Village," he cursed.

Neji cussed with the Inuzuka before they both started running. The suspect was smart and that annoyed them both. It meant that he set that trap as a warning that they were getting close. If he was awake or in position to see the flames then he was probably prepping to leave right now, which meant they had very little time to waste. Running towards the rising sun only made him mood worse since it impaired his vision. He really hated this guy.

o.O.o

Shou yawned and stretched as he woke up. He had been having a good dream when he heard something knocking against the front door. He wanted to ignore it, but the knocking kept persisting and it was really annoying. Stumbling out of bed, Shou reached the door and opened it to see a local staring at him frantically.

"Shou-kun! Is your ninja guardian here?" the man asked.

Shou stared at him blankly for a moment before shaking his head no. If Neji or Kiba were here they would have answered the door long before Shou got there. "What's wrong?" He asked.

The man sighed and looked behind him. Shou followed his line of sight and saw the rising smoke from the distance.

"There's a fire up north and we wanted to see if your ninja would go check it out. Some of us are worried it's a forest fire. We wanted to make sure that it wasn't, and if it was then Hyuuga-san could use one of those fancy water techniques and put it out," he explained.

"A forest fire would have spread more quickly. That fire is contained in one area, so I don't think you have anything to worry about," a voice spoke up from behind the villager.

Shou looked around the man again and despite the line of conversation he felt a smile spread across his face, "Minobu!"

The red-head smiled softly at Shou before turning back to the man. "I'm sure the fire will burn itself out soon, so could you go and tell the other worried villagers that it's alright?" He asked.

The man nodded his head and wiped the sweat from his brow, clearly relieved. He thanked Minobu and then hurried off, his posture more relaxed than when Shou first answered the door.

"What are you doing here so early?" Shou asked.

Minobu grinned down at him and walked inside the house. "Well I was sleeping in my tiny apartment when I heard a woman screaming about a fire. I looked outside and saw the old biddies that wake up early all frantically running around to get their husbands, and since I was already awake and bored…I thought I would come visit my favourite little cook."

Shou laughed and led his friend to the kitchen. "So you wanted breakfast," He shot back.

"Only if you're offering," Minobu replied a she dropped an arm around Shou's shoulders.

Shou knocked Minobu's arm off as he stretched his arms and shoulders, preparing to cook. "If you want to eat you have to work," he sternly told his friend. "You wash the rice while I get everything else ready for the miso soup and fish."

Minobu happily complied and went to grab the pot. "I'll help but after breakfast I want to show you something cool I found in the forest. I think you will like it."

Shou waved his friend off as he dug through the fridge, gathering everything he needed. He planned to make extra food and wrap it up for Neji and Kiba to eat later. Maybe if he had enough rice left over he could make some bento's for him and Minobu to enjoy as they went on this forest trip.

o.O.o

Neji grumbled slightly as he ran down the stairs. Akamaru had taken them to the East village and straight to a barn house. The owner said that he rented out the secret basement in the barn, but he hadn't seen the tenant lately. Getting permission to enter, Neji and Kiba had dashed over to the basement door. Neji had carefully opened the door wide enough to slip his fingers through, and then very softly, he slid his fingers around the edge until he caught a hidden match and switch. Disabling it cautiously, he searched the rest of the doorway until he found a second match and disabled that one too. A third sweep declared the door safe, and ever so gently he pulled the door open.

The room was previously occupied but the layer of dust covering everything meant their suspect wasn't here either. "This much dust can accumulate is a day considering the conditions of the barn and the room. He wasn't here when the North village room caught fire, so where is he?" Neji whispered to himself.

Kiba sighed and started looking around the room, hoping to find something. Picking up a book, he flipped it open to find rows of numbers and names. "Hey Neji, what do you think this means?" Kiba held the book out to his partner, and Neji took a quick look.

"It looks like an accounting ledger…" Neji stepped forward to read it more clearly. The book was a ledger that kept track of money and its location. The name on top spelled out Gato, and beside each deposit was a location and name. Neji reasoned that the names were Gato's contacts or fake names. A dirty business man like him wouldn't keep all his money in one place or under one name. He would need to spread it out in case he needed to disappear.

"Gato…" Kiba whispered as he read over Neji's shoulder.

"Yes. I think the accounts with the red line are the one the suspect has cleared out already," Neji informed his partner.

Kiba whistled lowly. "Gato sure had a lot of cash lying around. This guy must have been working hard to get to it and move it without getting caught."

Neji slipped that book into his shirt to keep. He would bring it back to Konoha and hand it off to Tsunade. He was sure that the Hokage would love sending out someone to collect the left over funds. Frowning a little Neji decided to bargain with the Hokage. Raising a child was expensive and if he wanted to give Shou the best future possible he would need more than what his shinobi lifestyle paid. Mind you, he was comfortable currently, his inheritance from his father, and the allowance the Hyuuga clan paid him were sufficient, but Shou was a special boy that needed a large food budget. He liked to cook, and if Neji had his way, he would personally buy the building and all the needed tools to help Shou open his own restaurant. Plus there was the operating cost, the money needed to pay any workers, and an advertising budget. Yes, he would definitely need to convince Tsunade to gift him with one or two of Gato's bank accounts.

"Neji…" Kiba's soft call broke him from his planning.

Neji walked over to his partner and looked down at the picture frame he was holding with a frown. Inside was an old picture of a man and woman with a little child between them. The man had a hand on the boys shoulder, and an arm around the pregnant woman, and all of them were smiling. They looked happy.

"I think I've seen this boy before…" Kiba stated quietly.

Neji slipped the frame out of Kiba's hands and opened the frame to see the back of the picture. 'Takita, Natsu, Nanbu, and little baby Shouta' was written in slightly faded symbols.

"Nanbu…do you recall ever meeting someone named Nanbu?" Neji asked. His mind started working overtime as certain pieces of information started coming together.

"No. But I do know I saw him somewhere," Kiba said.

"This is our suspect," Neji stated firmly.

Kiba shot him a surprised look. "How can you be sure?"

Neji drummed his fingers against the frame as he organized his thoughts. "If we brought this picture to that woman and asked her if this was the pregnant woman who died, do you think she would say yes?"

Kiba's eyes went wide. "So this is the dead husband, the mother and baby that died, and the boy…"

"The boy is the suspect. The woman never mentioned him, probably because she forgot about him. I would bet my mission pay that Gato took this little boy with him when he left." Neji flipped the picture back over and stared at the smiling child.

"But why would the boy want to ruin the villages. Wouldn't he be happy to return to his home?" Kiba scratched his head.

Neji sighed as a piece of information he read before came back to him. It seemed insignificant at the time, but if his theory was correct then the boy had all a lot of hate stored up inside him. "He would want revenge because his mother and father wasn't the only one that tried to get help and was ignored. An incident, years ago around the time of Gato's reign, the butchers son was walking through town naked. He was only discovered because a screaming child, but the report says nothing about the child or what he was screaming about. The villagers were more interested in watching the butcher's son make a fool of himself again than helping a distressed child. Nanbu was that child" Neji explained.

"So Nanbu escaped and tried to get help but the villagers ignored him. He was caught by Gato and then taken away, but he never forgot how the two villages let his mother and sibling die… but how does the East village play into this? Wasn't it his home? Why would he be bitter towards them?" Kiba asked.

"Because they forgot about him and let the bad man Gato take him away…" Neji whispered. His heart hurt for the young boy that had his happy life destroyed. He must have been so scared when he ran to the other villages seeking help. He must have gone before the nurse or around the same time. He was ignored in his moment of need and it turned him bitter. Living with a vile man like Gato probably only helped to twist his personality and feelings, and when Gato died… Nanbu must have jumped on the chance to explore his freedom.

What did he do during the time of Gato's death and his revenge? Did he explore the hidden nations? Did he wait in secret and observe the three villages for years before coming up with a plan. Was he moving money the entire time until he had a significant enough amount to start bribing? Neji wanted to know what happened, but more importantly, he wanted to stop Nanbu.

"Let's go Kiba. We still have to find him," Neji said as he slipped the picture behind the ledger. "There's no money here so he must be keeping it elsewhere. He could have another place here or we missed it somewhere."

Together the pair left the basement room and went back outside to Akamaru that was whinging and pawing the ground. Kiba frowned at his partner and quickly approached the large dog and scratched his nose. "What's wrong buddy?"

Akamaru whined and bit the corner of Kiba's coat and tugged him away from the barn.

"Does he have another trail?" Neji asked as he watched the interaction.

Kiba narrowed his eyes and stared straight into Akamaru's eyes as the dog dropped his jacket and whined some more. Suddenly Kiba's complexion paled as he listened to his partner. "Aka-akamaru said that the suspect went to the South village. He's gone south Neji!"

Neji felt his body freeze. South. Shou was South…

"We need to leave. Now!" Neji screamed as he started running again. If the suspect had been a ninja than Neji and Kiba would have picked up his presence around the South village long before now, but since he wasn't it was harder for them to connect him to the crimes. How long had Nanbu been in the South village? What was his goal there? Did he know about Shou? Neji didn't want an answer to the last question. He just hoped and prayed that Shou was safe and that Nanbu would leave him out of anything that he had planned.

o.O.o

Shou giggled as Minobu held his hand and led him through the trees.

"It's just up here Shou. I think you will really like it," Minobu called back.

Shou giggled again. He felt like he was on some great big adventure and there was treasure waiting for him at the end of the trail. "Can't you just give me a hint?" Shou asked.

Minobu looked back with his eyes that sparkled with mischief. "It's something to die for," he said with a wink.

Shou smiled and sped up a little, eager to see what wonderful thing his friend had found.

* * *

**Did You Know That…**

Dementors don't breed. They grow where there's decay, like fungus

**And Now You Know.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer**: I own neither Harry Potter, or Naruto. Any characters you recognize, I did not create, but any you don't, well then I take complete credit for those.

**Warnings**: Death, Magic abuse, OOC'ness, OC'ness, Gen, language, vague sexual suggestion

**Final Push**

The closer Neji came to the house, the bigger his anxiety grew. He activated his Byakugan, using his kekkei genkai for his main purpose- finding people- and felt like screaming when he couldn't find Shou in the house. He didn't feel in control of his body as he crashed into the house, hoping that Shou was simply playing with magic and it hid him from Neji some way. He didn't want to believe that Nanbu had taken Shou away from him. Neji pushed opened Shou's door and felt his heart freeze as he spotted Shou's messy futon.

Scrambling, Neji searched the entire house before Kiba arrived with Akamaru. Neji didn't need the dog to lead him home, he knew the way and he long past ran ahead of the shinobi and his pet.

"He's gone!" Neji yelled. "Kiba, Shou is gone!"

Kiba's solemn face did nothing to comfort Neji. "Maybe he's at the market or something? Shou wouldn't simply leave with a stranger without putting up a fight. There's no signs of struggle so he left the house willingly at least."

Neji felt like stamping his foot and throwing a right fit because he knew, his instinct was screaming at him that Shou was in trouble. His charge may have left the house willingly but that didn't meet harm once he left. This meant Neji needed to track down Shou.

"Kiba we need to find Shou. Once we find him, hopefully alive, the suspect should be there with him," Neji steeled himself. He couldn't live in a fantasy world where Shou would be alright. He had to accept that possibility that the little boy he came to care for could already be dead, his body waiting to be found. If he didn't and went out searching anyways, he may not be able to keep his senses if he found Shou dead. The world was cruel and even children die and suffer for the schemes of evil men.

Kiba dropped a comforting hand on Neji's shoulder but didn't refute his words. "The trail is fresh so we will find him soon." 'Dead or alive' was left off, but Neji knew that Kiba was thinking them.

"Who knew a diplomatic mission could turn so rotten?" Neji rhetorically asked as he turned and left the room.

o.O.o

Shou groggily felt his head being tugged to the side and then something hard start to preen his hair. The action reminded him of Hedwig, his wonderful owl that he had to regrettably leave behind. She had been one of the best friends he could have ever had. He missed her terribly, and he felt a wave of warmth envelope his body at the mere thought of her. They only knew each other less than a year, but she was his precious owl that he loved dearly.

Slowly, and with a lot of effort, Shou pried his eyes opened and blinked as the harsh sunlight battered against his still sensitive eyes. Blinking some more to grow accustomed to the light, Shou eventually become more aware and managed to keep his eyes open. Noticing that the tugging persisted, Shou moved his head to the side to be met with a mass of white feathers. A small bubble of hope started to form and with slow, cautious movements, Shou lifted his eyes up more and stared straight into the eyes of his owl Hedwig.

"H-hedwig? Is that really you?" Shou asked feeling more elated with each passing second. Hedwig still felt the same to him. It was like she was exuding a sense of warmth and home. The only thing he noticed different about her was that she looked more feral. She was still preened quite prettily, but there was a more wild edge to her eyes and posture.

"How did you get here girl?" Shou asked as he went to raise a hand to pet his owl but was met with resistance.

Looking down, Shou noticed for the first time that he was tied tightly to a tree trunk. His mood nose-dived as he took in the new situation. The last thing he remembered was running through the forest with Minobu before everything black. Feeling scared for his friend Shou quickly searched around him and was happy to find his friend safe and sound, tied to a tree across from him. Minobu still seemed to be sleeping, but at least he was safe.

"I don't suppose you know what's going on, do you girl?" Shou asked in a sad tone. He just reunited with his owl only to find himself in a bad situation. The universe was mean like that.

Hedwig barked out a few words and flapped her wings as she tried to explain the situation to him as best she could for an owl. Shou listened to her and once she settled down he decided that the worst action as no action at all. While the bad guy was still gone he would need to escape. Hardening his resolve, Shou turned towards Hedwig. "Can you cut through the ropes?"

Hedwig huffed at him and jumped off his shoulder, digging her claws into him slightly in reprimand, telling him 'how dare you doubt me!' Shou smiled as he watched his owl latch on to the middle of the ropes and start cutting the top rope with her beak.

Only, a loud noise in the distance startled his owl and with a startled bark, Hedwig beat her wings and flew off.

"Hedwig!" Shou called, wanting his owl to come back. "Hedwig!"

o.O.o

Neji followed Akamaru, his Byakugan constantly searching his surroundings. It seemed Shou was travelling somewhere in the woods. He could see his charge's footprints and those of another as they ran. There were no drag marks signaling that Shou was being pulled along, but the prints showed that they were running close together.

Neji was scanning the forest again when he spotted them. Two people, civilians, were in a clearing ahead. "Shou…" Neji whispered, relieved that his charge was alive. "I see him!" Neji stated happily to Kiba and rushed forward, passing the dog and his master again. His eyes would lead him to Shou.

Akamaru barked loudly and dashed after him, and with the noise Neji spotted a bird take off near Shou. He didn't care about the animal; his focus was entirely on Shou. Absently Neji instructed Kiba to hold the second person, while he tended to Shou. The second person had to be Nanbu after all.

Together the leaf trio burst into the clearing but they once again failed to credit their suspect. Neji rushed to Shou's side, but the weight of Akamaru versus the force of the dog trying to stop caused a large dust cloud that was mixed with a suspicious white powder. Neji raced quickly and covered his mouth and nose while diving at Shou and using his long sleeves to cover the boy's. Kiba and Akamaru who had been right in the middle of the cloud weren't as lucky or quick and inhaled a good portion of the powder. Together they passed out on and ground, slumped over in a large useless heap.

Neji positioned himself between Shou and the second person, his Byakugan telling him that the second person wasn't moving. Neji waited, not wanting to be taken by surprise again. As the dust settled, Neji lowered the hand covering his mouth and nose and used it to take a kunai out of his pouch and cut Shou free. Knowing that if he moved across the clearing he would disturb he powder again, Neji ripped his sleeve and tied the fabric around Shou's face.

"Keep that on until I say so, got it?"

Shou nodded, his eyes full of fear. Neji repeated the action, only this time covering his own face. He had experienced an attack like this before, but from experienced shinobi. It was one thing to take precaution against enemy ninja but he honestly underestimated this civilian. Maybe that was why Kakashi-sensei always wore a face mask. Had he been on the receiving end of these attacks enough to be forever paranoid and prepared? It wasn't a bad thought.

Looking at the second person, Neji was surprised to see him tied up. "Shou, who is that?" It didn't make sense for Nanbu to tie himself up.

"M-minobu. He's my friend," Shou answered.

Neji narrowed his eyes. He heard of the mysterious boy before but never met him. If Shou left with Minobu then it explained why Shou left without a struggle.

"Tell me what happened exactly," Neji demanded. He turned off his kekkei genkai, wanting to conserve his chakra just in case.

"Someone woke me up this morning looking for you. There was a fire and they wanted you to check it out. Minobu stopped by and after breakfast he wanted to show me something. We ate and then left. As I was running behind Minobu I blacked out and woke up tied to a tree," Shou explained as quickly as he could.

"Minobu was in front of you when you blacked out?" Neji asked for clarification.

"Yes."

"Did he make the food?"

"No. He washed the rice but I did the rest, why?" Shou asked.

Neji sighed in frustration. This didn't make sense. The mystery was just starting to come together but the answer was still out of his reach just like Nanbu.

"Let's check on Kiba and Akamaru first. Step lightly and try not to stir the dirt. I don't know what that powder was but it had an ill effect on Kiba," Neji instructed.

Together they walked towards to unconscious pair, Neji stirring less dirt than Shou. Once they reached them, Neji bent down and did a quick evaluation. It seemed they were merely in a deep sleep, no hissing breath or signs of internal bleeding which was good. Neji ran his hands lightly down Kiba one more time, checking for any external injuries he may have sustained from the fall but found none. Bar being asleep, Kiba was perfectly healthy.

The sharp noise of a whistle reached his ears, and Neji activated his Byakugan as he looked up. His eyes instantly locked on the approaching figure. It was another civilian, and Neji felt anger. Was this Nanbu? Was he returning to finish Shou off? Neji carefully slid the handle of his kunai into Shou's hand and whispered to his charge, "Shou go cut your friend free and hide."

"Neji…"

"Go Shou!" Neji hissed.

Shou scrambled across the clearing, but Neji kept his focus on the whistling person. The happy tune was taunting, but Neji held his position, wanting Nanbu to come to him.

Neji could hear the sound of Shou trying to cut the rope, mentally urged his charge to hurry up. Shou needed to be hidden before Nanbu arrived or else he would witness Neji killing the man. Shou didn't need to see anymore killing. Neji didn't want to scar the poor boy any more than he already was, but he wouldn't be able to help it if Shou didn't hurry up and hide.

"Shou?" Neji heard the groggy voice of Shou's friend say as he finally woke up. "What's going on?"

"I don't know but we have to hide," Shou answered.

The sound of ropes dropping made Neji smile and it was followed by the beat of two pairs of feet running behind a nearby bush. Shou was safe.

Finally, the whistling person entered the clearing and looked surprised to see Neji waiting for him. He was a young man and Neji had seen him before. He was a local bully that had tried to approach Shou a few times but Neji always stepped in before he could. The profile fit- an angry young man that liked to see others suffer.

"Here already? Well, aren't I lucky," the man grinned.

"Who are you?" Neji asked.

The man laughed loudly and casually leaned against a tree. "Who do you think I am? You have been looking for me have you not?"

"Nanbu."

The young man's grin grew wider. "That's what they call me. But who are you? I've seen you around, always getting in the way of my fun, but I never learned your name?" Nanbu's eyes strayed to the side and locked on Kiba. "What happened to your little friend? Nothing terrible I hope."

"Hyuuga, Neji. It's only polite to tell you before I kill you," Neji stated coldly.

Nanbu's eyed widened and he put up his arms about to protest but Neji didn't let him. Scum like this that liked to swim in the misery of others didn't deserve long lives. Had Nanbu been raised by someone decent outside of Gato, Neji was sure he would have been a fine young man, but the one standing in front of his was a bully, a sadist, and a psychopath.

Pulling another kunai from his push, Neji threw it across the clearing and straight through Nanbu's head. He watched as the blood started to trickle down Nanbu's face before the body fell to the ground. For all Nanbu's smarts and planning there was one thing a civilian could never do. They could never run from a shinobi's weapon. Shinobi were simply too fast for them, too skilled. But Neji could admit that Nanbu had put him on quite the chase.

"What a poor life this boy lived. I'm sorry it had to come to this Nanbu," Neji whispered as he kneeled beside the dead boy, taking in the face of person who pit three villages against each other because he wants to avenge the death of his family.

"How sad indeed…but I'm afraid that's not Nanbu. I am." Neji whipped around at the statement and nearly screamed in frustration when he saw that Minobu held Neji's own kunai to Shou's throat. This couldn't be happening.

"You're Nanbu?" Neji asked. Neji felt dizzy. The young man beside him had admitted to being Nanbu, had purposely taunted him about it, but…Minobu?

Minobu laughed loudly and smirked. "I am. You just killed a local village boy that I paid. It's amazing what these idiots will do for a few ryo. I handed him the cash, told him to come to this clearing and say his name was Nanbu and taunt the people he found here. The moron at your feet was already sporting a hard-on just at the sight of all the money I promised him. I just needed him to distract you while I captured your sweet and precious little Shou. I already had a plan to incapacitate that dog lover rand his mutt but I knew you would be harder. I would need something more elaborate to get you to drop your guard so I could get into a favourable position," Minobu explained.

"Minobu, what's going on?" Shou asked quietly. The poor boy was so confused.

"I'm sorry Shou, but you are just too naïve. It was so simple to spy on you and learn about your personality. Then I just had to pay some idiots to rough me up a little as you got off work and instantly gained your sympathy and friendship. After that it was just a matter of going to see you when your guardian was gone. You talk a lot when you're comfortable. You always talked about where your guardian was that day, how frustrated he was with not getting anywhere in his investigation. I even snuck around the house and read some of his reports, and you didn't notice a thing.

"When Neji here showed up, he almost questioned me on his first day, and ruined everything. I managed to slip behind a villager and hide in a shack until he moved on. After that I learned that these villages were under Konoha protection. Finally they were being looked after BUT WHERE WERE THEY WHEN MY PARENTS WERE DYING?" Minobu screamed. "Where was Konoha then? Sitting on their asses ignoring the cry for help from little villages that didn't give them resources? Ignoring the unimportant lives outside their big impressive wall?" Minobu –Nanbu- spat out.

"Let Shou go…" Neji said slowly.

"No! And don't you dare come a step closer or I will slit his throat and Shou will die before your very eyes. Not until you leave. Leave this forest, this village and mission, and just go. Don't come back until I have my revenge. Once those three villages finally destroy each other you can return and collect Shou. I promise to keep him in one piece, perfectly safe and sound," Minobu grinned hysterically. "So safe and sound tied to my bedroom wall…"

Neji growled at Minobu.

"What? You don't like hearing that? Shou is just so pretty though. If you expect to keep raising him you will encounter comments like that often. With a dress and wig he would be perfect marriage material for me or any guy that doesn't mind the extra bits hanging between his legs, but then again… we can cut those off."

Shou whimpered and Neji felt his heart clench. Shou didn't deserve this. He deserved to live in a nice safe home away from any crazy men like Minobu. "Give me Shou and I will leave. I won't get in your way anymore," Neji bargained.

Minobu laughed. "Like I would believe that. No, I want you to do what your good at- ignoring us little people. Leave!"

Neji cast his eyes around, looking for a solution. Kiba and Akamaru were still down for the count and the distance between him and Minobu was too great that he couldn't use his speed. The moment he started running he didn't have a doubt in his mind that Minobu would move that kunai and end Shou's life. But he couldn't leave either, not when Shou needed him.

Looking at his charge, Neji wanted to apologize to him for being stuck like this, but something about Shou's actions were off. His little charge kept looking to the side, trying to direct Neji's attention elsewhere. Following the line of sight, Neji looked to the side and up to see a…snow owl? The bird was sitting on a branch and glaring at Minobu as he held Shou. The sight didn't make any sense to him. It was like the owl was mad at Minobu for handling Shou in such a way, but it was simply a bird. A bird that had no connection to Neji, Shou or Minobu for all he could tell. Why was Shou even looking at it?

Looking back at his charge, Shou seemed to be trying to silently communicate with the bird. Looking back in forth, Neji felt slightly dumbfounded when the bird would nod and flap it's wings according to Shou's different facial expressions. Finally the pair seemed to reach an agreement and the bird bobbed its head up and down before taking off into the air. Neji looked at Shou and the boy winked at him. Winked at him! In such a situation Shou somehow found it appropriate to wink. Clearly the stress of the situation was getting to the 11 year-old and Neji needed to resolve it quickly before Shou went completely mad.

"Minobu, I'm sorry," Shou whispered.

"For what?" Minobu sneered down at Shou.

"For what my owl is about to do." Neji arched an eyebrow in confusion. His owl? The snowy owl that was recently perched in the trees? What was it going to do?

A loud shriek sounded from the sky above and Neji looked up just in time to catch the start of what he could only describe as a feathery white cannonball spiraling down from the sky. He watched as it quickly plummeted and just before it reached Minobu two white wings burst out and the owl unleashed it's claws and aimed for Minobu's eyes. Minobu screamed and pushed Shou away as he raised his arms to protect his eyes. Neji took his chance and dashed forward, pulling Shou from the ground and to the side to safety. He placed Shou behind Akamaru's large body; Shou didn't need to see this, and ran back to Minobu to finally kill the bastard.

Minobu was flailing around, trying to fend off the bird that was leaving long gashes on his arms and face. In the confusion Neji slipped in behind him and with one swift punch of Neji's gentle fist, he stopped Minobu's heart. The owl stopped its attack and gently flew over to Shou, while Neji closed the dead boy's eyes. The path of revenge never did end well.

"Shou, we're done here. We'll stop at home but after that we are going straight to Konoha. I'm going to have so many people protecting you there that you won't even be able to catch a cold," Neji swore.

"C-can Hedwig come?" Shou asked from behind Akamaru.

Neji smiled gently. "Of course. The owl will be one of your best protectors after all. Let's wake the idiot and his mutt and get home to Konoha." Neji was ready to put this whole mission behind him and start a new life with Shou.

* * *

**Epilogue**

Shou had a giant smile on his face as he placed the last tray of peach buns on the counter. He had finally opened his own shop. 'Shou's Peach Buns' were a big hit with all the shinobi and after only taking mail in orders for the first two years he lived in Konoha, Shou had finally saved enough moment for his own store. Neji had offered to pay for it all, but Shou refused, wanting to do this on his own.

He had found the perfect balance between elixir and peach bun to ensure that any shinobi that ate it would get a burst of energy that lasted at least 24 hours depending on their activities, and if someone ordered the medicinal bun that any recent ailment would be healed.

He knew that he couldn't cure the blind and give the residents eternal youth, but he could help them in little ways. A cold was easy to cure and energy was nice to give, but he never went beyond that. Tsunade had tried getting his secret out of him but Neji had been holding a ledger of money hostage and every time she tried to get the secret out of Shou, Neji vowed to hide another bank account.

It worked for them and Shou was happy. Really happy. He had a family with Neji, and his friends. They helped teach Shou the ways of the world, and while Shou still practiced magic when he was alone, he didn't miss that life any more. He loved Konoha and its people. It was home.

"Shou, it's almost time to open. There's a huge line outside waiting, do you think you made enough?" Neji asked as he guarded the door in case any zealous customer tried to break in early.

Shou smiled at his adoptive father and nodded, "I think it'll be fine. Please let them in."

**The End.**


End file.
